Kamen Rider Shadow
by GuyverGenesis
Summary: This is the story of three Riders. One Human, one Angelic half-breed and one Demonic half-breed. They must face both the Akushi and each other. Can they escape their fate or are they just destiny's puppets?
1. Unleash The Darkness

_I do not own the Kamen Rider franchise. I do own this series as it is one that I created. Any characters that I use that do not belong to me will be credited to their original owners and creators at the end of each chapter. Please R & R._

**Chapter 1: Unleash the Darkness**

Author: Toku Warrior

Rating: M for Mature

E-Mail:

In the middle of the city park, a battle was taking place. There was debris scattered every where and small fires could be seen which had engulfed a few trees, park benches, and a trash can. The fountain in the middle which had a statue of an angel had been damaged as the angels' head and right wing looked like they had been blown clean off. The crying of a little girl could be heard in the background while loud sounds of swords clashing against one another could be heard from all directions.

The little girl was cowering behind a small light poll, watching the battle as she cried. The child looked no more than 5 years old while wearing a white dress with a picture of a sunflower on the front. She had chin length black hair and blue eyes filled with tears. In her eyes, you could see both fear and awe at the same time. She saw fear because of the monster she had seen which had killed her father there in the park. Even more though was the fact that she was in awe at the armored being fighting the monster.

The little girl looked on and then noticed that one of the fighters had been knocked into what remained of the angelic statue of the water fountain. She then saw the attacker and looked at it in fear. It was the monster that had killed her father. The monster looked like a cross between a werewolf and a bull. It stood near 7 feet tall, was red in color and had spikes protruding from its shoulders, elbows, knees, and one big one from the center of its collar bone. It's had was shaped like a wolf but it had a pair of bull horns sticking out from the side. It had feral looking eyes that were purple in color and long sharp claws. The creature also seemed to be holding a long broad sword that was nearly as big as it was. The monster let out a menacing growl as it slowly moved towards the broken fountain.

The little girl turned her attention towards the fountain and was concerned about her rescuer. Suddenly, the rubble of the fountain exploded in all directions as a slender, armored figure leapt out from the rubble and flipped over the monster, landing behind it. The armored being then spun on its left heel, slashing at the monsters back with its own sword which looked similar to a rapier. The monster tried to dodge the slash but was unable to move fast enough and ended up getting slashed across its chest which sent both sparks and blood out every where. The monster let out a pained howl as it fell back on it butt and held its chest in pain while looking at its opponent.

The armored warrior prepared to strike again and the little girl, while still hiding, finally got a good look at her rescuer. The armored warrior had a feminine figure and the outer armor was white in color. The chest area of the armor had a blue organic look to it and the shoulder guards were also blue in color while having spiked edges. The gauntlets were white with gold trim. Her hands were also covered in armored plating that were silver in color. She wore knee high white boots with gold trim and the bottom of the boots meet at the ankles which were covered in silver colored ankle guards.

Her boots themselves were silver in color. The body suit under her armor was black in color with the exception of a couple patches of her inner thighs. Her outer thighs had small armor plates that were attached to them. She wore a white belt with gold trim and the buckle was in the shape of a wolfs head with a blue gem in the center. Her helmet was white as well with a silver mouth guard. The top of her helmet appeared to have a halo design embezzled on it and the eye pieces looked like a pair of wings.

The monster looked at the woman with hatred in its eyes and pointed its sword at the woman, "You'll pay for this Exis. I swear by my name that I'll make you regret ever fighting me."

"Oh really? I'd like to see ya try, especially since I'm not the one whose getting his ass handed to him by a girl," Exis retorted back to the monster.

"Ha! I don't think you'll be able to finish me off even if you could," the monster snarled in a sarcastic manner.

"Well, we'll just have to see about that! Are you ready Eris?" Exis asked, looking at her wolf shaped buckle.

"Ready as I'll ever be. Let's send this bastard back to the abyss that it crawled out of," the wolf buckle replied to its master.

Exis lower her rapier down so as the front of the hilt was facing Eris. The hilt had a blue gem embedded in it which began to emit a faint glow. "Charge it up!" Exis shouted in which the gem on the wolf buckle began to glow as it transferred energy into the rapier. Upon the completion of the charge, Eris howled out, "Angelic charge!"

Exis began moving her rapier around in the air, forming a pattern which began to glow brightly. While she was doing this, a figure was standing in the shadow of a tree up on a hill overlooking the battle. The figure turned its head to the patch of trees behind Exis and noticed a group of another 5 monsters that looked exactly like the one that was about to die. The figure turned its attention back to the fight and let out a sigh.

"Baka, you should pay attention to you surroundings instead of gloating," the figure said quietly to himself but just loud enough for someone, or should I say something, to hear and reply to.

"Are you going to help her Lucas? It really is none of our business you know?" a voice replied.

"I know. She'd probably end up attacking me in the process because of what I am. Of course, who says I have to rescue her. I'm more concerned about that little girl hiding down there. If that female Rider loses, then that little girl is a goner," Lucas responded while looking down at his dragon shaped buckle.

"You have a point. Heh, humans, they think that they know everything there is to know in this world. They also think that they are completely righteous when they slay a monster or demon.," the dragon buckle quipped in a sarcastic tone.

"You may be right Draconis, but we should not judge people for their beliefs but instead by the way they carry themselves throughout their lives," Lucas replied back to his partner.

"You're right. Well, let's do this. I'm hungry and you said you'd make me a steak tonight," Draconis said to its master.

"Hai!"

Exis finished making the symbol in the air and brought the sword up to her head with the hilt facing her face while the blade pointed straight up. The monster looked up at Exis the n looked behind her and let a wicked smile cross its snout. Exis then looked at the monster and say that it was smiling. '_Why's it smiling? Is it just going stupid, knowing it's about to die? Meh, who cares_.' She thought. It would be this thought that would cause her to lose this battle.

"Alright you unholy beast. I, Kamen Rider Exis, in the name of the Divine Order, hereby sentence you t—"

**Wham!!**

Exis was never able to finish he sentence as a clawed fist impacted her in the face which sent her sprawling back into the water fountain. Her rapier fell were she once stood and was then picked up by another monster which looked like the one she was about to execute but much, much bigger and black in color. Exis picked herself up slowly while holding her head in her left hand. The blow to the head had made her disoriented and she was having a hard time standing up. After a moment she was able to get her bearings and saw something which scared her to hell and back. She saw a whole group of wolf monsters and a big black one was grasping her rapier. One thought began to cross her mind, '_Oh Shit_!'

"Well, well, well. Don't you Divine Order bitches know that my kind travel in packs? Serves you right. So boss, what do you want to have done to her?" the 1st monster asked the big black one.

"Well, if I remember correctly, we are in need of a new play toy back at the den…..right boys?" the Alpha male of the pack asked its brethren. The other members howled in unison to the leaders' idea. They looked at Exis with lust and hunger in their eyes.

"Cerica, we have to get out of here," Eris told Exis.

"Right, but first we need to get back my sword or else—"

She never had a chance to finish her sentence as the Alpha male used the rapier which was still infused with destructive energy and rushed at Exis while striking the blade of the sword in a downward diagonal slash against her chest, sending sparks flying from her armor. The force of the impact and power that was released from the sword shattered her armor away and she was once again in her human form. Eris' head floated up I the air and reattached itself to the bottom of the hilt of the rapier, returning the weapon back into her gas cloud body. She floated in front of Cerica, preparing to defend her master to the very end.

The Alpha male just swiped his claws in the air with enough force that the shockwave sent Eris flying backwards into a bush. The wolf monster then picked up Cerica by her left shoulder and brought her face close to his. He then began to lick her face and neck and then began to let his tongue slither down the front of her shirt and under her bra. Cerica let out a desperate and disgusted yell which was then answered by her back being slammed against a wall and being pined against it by the monster holding her arms stretched up above her head. The monster used its left hand to hold both her wrists while he began groping her thighs and butt with his right.

"Prepare yourself slut! As of this day forward, you're my BITCH!" the monster howled as his tongue began wrapping itself around one of her breasts. Cerica couldn't take much more of this and began to think of the moments that had led up to this moment.

(Flashback)

_Cerica was walking through the park with Eris floating next to her. They were on patrol as there had been many reports of monster attacks on the people who were in the park. So far, they had been looking for over 4 hours and still found nothing. Cerica stopped for a moment and sat down on a bench and took a swig of water from a plastic battle she was carrying. Some young men that were probably still in high school kept eyeing her as they walked by. They had good reason to be eyeing her. She was wearing a white mid-drift long sleeved shirt and a pair of very short blue jean shorts. She had on a pair of black, zip-up boots and a necklace with a cross attached to it hanging from her neck. She had chin length silver hair with a patch of it covering the right side of her face. Her eyes sparkled and her clothes hugged her body tightly. _

_She wasn't ashamed of the way she dressed. In fact, she like to tease boys with her gorgeous looks and making them drool. Of course, she never considered herself a diva or a primadona because she didn't really like any of the boys at her school. Sure, they were plenty of hot and cute guys at her school, but none of them were her type. She liked guys that were kind, funny and gentle but also cunning, daring, and straight to the point. She wanted a guy that would want to be with her just because she was her and not for how she looked. Someone who'd be there for her and defend her and not just try to get in her pants. Despite how gorgeous looks, she was also very smart. She was ranked among the top 15 of her school._

"_Ugh, why can't I find a descent guy!? Eris, why isn't there a guy out there that would just want to be with me just cuz I'm me?" Cerica asked her spiritual familiar._

"_Don't know. Maybe if you stop flaunting yourself around like you're a common day whore, then maybe you'd find a descent guy. Anyway, we're here to find and kill the monsters that have been attacking people here in the park. Focus on that instead of you guy troubles," Eris replied back._

"_Yeah, you're right. I guess I'm just a little worried. I mean, it's my last year of high school and I've never had a boyfriend in my wh—, WAIT!? Did you just call me a whore?!" Cerica shouted._

_Eris never got the chance to reply as at that moment a bunch of screams began to emit from the center of the park. Cerica and Eris looked at one another and headed off towards that direction. When they arrived, they found a few people running for their lives while a few more bodies were lying on the ground lifeless. Cerica couldn't believe her eyes as she saw puddles upon puddles of blood everywhere she looked. She then heard the scream of a little girl and ran towards the area where the cream had come from. When she arrived, she saw a grown man, around his mid 30's, laying face first in a puddle of his own blood with a little girl kneeling over him with a look of fright on her face. Standing before her was a wolf-like monster completely covered in red fur. This site infuriated Cerica and she charged at the monster at inhuman speed and dropkicked it in the side of its head as it began to reach for the girl. The force of the kick sent it flying into a trash can, knocking it over._

_Cerica landed right in front of the little girl and motioned for her to find someplace to hide. The little girl did as instructed just as the monster picked itself up and looked at her with eyes full of anger and hunger._

"_Alright you bastard! It's time for you to pay for your atrocities against the innocent. Eris, now!" Cerica commanded._

_Upon hearing her masters' command, Eris flew straight towards Cerica and phased right through her chest. As Eris began phasing through her, Cerica's eyes began to glow white. Eris exited from Cerica's back but now, instead of having a gas cloud body behind her wolf-like head, she had a solid body that was in the shape of a rapier. Eris then made a u-turn and flew around to Cerica's right side. Eris the began to fly past her front when Cerica reached out and grabbed the hilt of the rapier with her outstretched right arm. She firmly grabbed Eris' head in her left hand and removed it from the hilt. She then lowered her right arm while raising her left one until Eris' head was near her own. Cerica looked at the monster with eyes filled with rage and while looking at the monster, a glowing circle of feather appeared around her waist which then compressed and formed a white belt with gold trim. With the belt now fully formed, Cerica locked Eris' head into the center of the belt to act as the buckle. Upon locking the Eris buckle in place, she then uttered a word that would certainly mean the end of the monsters life._

"_HENSHIN!!!"_

"_ANGELIC BURST!" Eris shouted out._

_Cerica was suddenly surrounded by a mass of glowing feathers. The feathers continued to glow brightly until they burst way, leaving Kamen Rider Exis in Cerica's place._

(End Flashback)

While remembering those last few moments, tears began to fall from her eyes. The Alpha male leaned in closer and began to sniff her. His eyes shot open in realization and made an announcement to his comrades, "Hey fellas, looks like we have ourselves an angelic half-breed. Two for the price of one."

To her, all of her hopes and dreams were about to fade away when she all of a sudden heard someone shout out, "Please, leave her alone!" Cerica and the pack of wolf monsters turned their attention to see the little girl away from her hiding place and looking at them with tears streaming down her cheeks. The Alpha male just looked at her and thought, '_Well, it's never good to ravage a pretty woman on an empty stomach_.' He then commanded the rest of his pack to bring him the little girl so they could have a little snack before they satisfied themselves with new play toy.

"NO! Don't touch her. Please! I'm begging you! Please don't!" Cerica screamed at the top of her lungs.

The rest of the pack marched towards the little girl who was starting to back away from them. One of the reached out its clawed hand and was about to grab the little girl when…

(Insert song: "Roots of the King" –Theme of KR Saga)

**BLOOD WHIP!!! **

A crimson red energy-like whip lashed out at the 5 wolf monsters heading for the little girl and decapitated all 5 of them. Another crimson colored whip then slashed them all in half vertically without even spilling a drop of blood. The bodies of the 5 wolf monsters the exploded into dust and faded away. Cerica, the little girl, and the Alpha Male looked around for the owner of the energy whips when the Alpha male let out a painful howl as Cerica fell down to the ground. She looked at her wrists and noticed that the wolf monsters' hand was still grasping them. The wolf monster turned to his right to find his attacker and instead his face was hit by a fist that sent him flying into 20 foot tall statue at the other end of the park. Cerica looked to her left and noticed a figure standing under one of the light posts and was amazed at what she saw. It was a new Rider.

This new Rider had a black body suit with red armor. His shoulder guards looked like grey demon heads with blue rounded tops. His chest armor was black in the center and looked like muscle. There was also a gold crest in the area where his abs were located. His arm gauntlets and chest armor had glowing purple gems embedded in them. His hands were clad in armor padding and the tips of his armored fingers were in the shape of claws. He wore knee high boots that were red on the outer half and silver on the inner half. His helmet was also black in color with a silver mouth plate and he his eyes pieces were pointy and blood red. He wore a black belt with gold trim and at the center was a buckle in the shape of a dragons head. His right arm, shoulder, and whole leg were covered in black tribal patterns and were reeking with dark energy. She then saw something which made her stare in shock. Wrapped around his upper right arm and his right wrist were a pair of rosaries. Though what scared her even more was that, even though he was wearing holy rosaries, he was emanating a powerful demonic aura.

"W-who are you?" Cerica asked.

"I am called Kamen Rider Shadow, but you may call me…Yami." Yami responded.

"Y-y-you're a-a-a-a demon!" she stammered.

"Half, actually." He replied in a monotone voice.

The remaining wolf monster, the Alpha Male, stood up and saw the new Rider. '_This Rider is even stronger than the girl. I can also sense demonic power coming from him. If he's a demon then why's he helping those that hunt his own kind_?' the monster thought to himself. He then noticed the little girl was right next to him and then decided to cut his losses and run away. Though, he would be damned if he was going to leave empty handed. He lunged for the little girl only for Yami to lash out one of his blood whips. Of course, this shocked everyone when, instead of hitting the monster, the blood whip wrapped around the little girl. Yami tugged on the whip and brought the girl to his side. He held the girl in his arms and released his blood whip. The girl saw his armored features and began to cry.

"Hey now, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you and neither will that big bad monster over there," he replied softly to the girl while gently stroking her hair, calming her down.

"You mean….you want to help me? You're not gonna eat me?" she asked.

"Eat you? Sorry kid, I don't eat humans. Let me guess, I look scary to you because of the way my armor looks?"

The little girl nodded lightly. Yami then set the girl down next to Cerica and then kneeled down next to her. He started stroking her hair with one of his clawed hands again very gently which in turn made her smile. He then wiped her tears away with his free hand.

"Look now, let's have no more crying, ok? A pretty little girl such as yourself is best suited with a beautiful smile instead of tears. Don't worry, I'll get back at that monster for what he's done to you," Yami told her gently which caused her to blush.

Yami began to stand up as the little girl moved next to Cerica. The demonic Rider then returned his attention towards the monster and made a death gesture by mock-slicing his throat with his thumb. The monster, who wanted nothing else to do with this new Rider, began running as fast as he could away from the area. Only, it was too little, too late for him to go anywhere. Yami then crouched down, stretching his arms out from his sides. The symbols on the right side of body began to glow a dark purple color while a black aura began to surround his right leg. The monster was about to reach the steps when Yami lashed out another blood whip which wrapped around the monsters legs. Only this time, the energy whip did not dissipate. Yami then focused his power into his legs and launched himself into the air. It was dark out by this time and there was a full moon out. The silhouette of Yami's body could be seen in front of the moon and then the dark Rider came crashing down towards the wolf monster with his right foot extended out, surrounded by dark, demonic energy.

The wolf monster looked up only in time to see his demise. Right before the attack made impact, Yami shouted out the name of his attack. "**DEMON CRUSHER**!" His boot impacted with the monsters chest which caused the monsters to burst into dark flames. After a moment of burning, the monsters body exploded, soul and all. Yami walked out of the flames and proceeded towards the little girl and Cerica.

(End Song: "Roots of the King")

Eris had watched all this from behind the bushes and had contacted the Divine Order the moment the new Rider had appeared. Eris then arose from the bushes and flew towards Cerica's side. Yami knelt next to the little girl and gave her an assuring nod that the monster was gone for good. The little girl smiled and tears of joy appeared in her eyes. She than jumped up and hugged him and cried her heart out on his armored chest.

"Excuse, miss? I think you may want to alert the local authorities and have them come here. That and this girl will need a place to stay," Yami instructed Cerica.

Cerica agreed and pulled out her cell phone and called the police to let them know what had transpired. After she hung up her phone she then returned her gaze to the demonic Rider and noticed him talking with Eris. It seems that they were discussing the current monster and demon attacks. After talking with Eris for a few minutes, Yami then turned around and started to leave. The little girl ran after him and grabbed onto his right leg. Yami stopped in his tracks and looked down at the girl. She let go and he knelt next to her once again.

"What's that matter little one?" he asked in a sincere voice.

"Can I come with you? Those monsters killed my father and I got no where else to go. Please!" she begged him.

"I'm sorry cutie, but I'm a half-demon and I don't think you'd like living with me since a few of my friends also happen to be pure-blooded monsters and demons and even other han-buns." he explained.

"I don't mind. I know that if I'm with you, I can live with it. Also, what's a han-bun?" she asked curiously.

"Well, for starters, a han-bun is Japanese for half-breed. 2nd, I think it would be better if you stayed with the humans so as you'll have a better chance at living life to the fullest.

"No, I want to stay with you!"

"You don't even know who I am under this armor and yet you want to live with me?" Yami asked which earned him a nod from the girl.

Yami lowered his head in thought and began to think of what kind of life this girl would have if she stayed with him. That was when he got an idea. "How about this then? I know a very well respected priest that could take you in. You can stay with him and I'll promise to come visit you every weekend. Would that do?" he asked, hoping that this would suffice.

"You promise?"

"Of course. On my honor as a Rider and on my soul. Here, I'll give you a nickname so you'll know it's me when I visit. How about Tenshi, Japanese for angel?" he asked which got him a big bright smile and a nod.

"Ok then, but remember but to tell anyone that nickname or else it'd would be a secret nickname, ok?"

"Right. Oh, by the way. My real name is Rachel."

"A very beautiful name."

After talking with Rachel, they headed over to Cerica who was then asked to take this girl to see the priest, Father Roland. After waving goodbye to Rachel, Cerica and Eris, Yami walked into a shadow that was against a wall and disappeared. A moment later, the rest of the Divine Order arrived followed by the police. Cerica gave her report to her superiors and then head to the church where Father Roland was located. After all this excitement, the young female Rider was going to need a nice long bubble bath.

Three days later it was a warm Monday morning. Cerica was sitting in class with her friend Drake and was telling him about the new Rider. They both agreed that the extra help was good but that since he was part demon, he could end up being a threat. The Divine Order had also come to this conclusion and placed an order that stated if he were spotted he was to be brought in immediately. It was the middle of homeroom and Cerica just couldn't get the new Rider out of her mind. '_A new Rider. I wonder what he looks like under that armor_.' Her thoughts were soon derailed as the door opened and a young man whom she had never seen before walked in. She knows every guy in the school since they all, with the exception of those that were close friends, hit on her. All the guys in the class starred at him wondering who he was while all the girls were starring at him with hearts in their eyes. Some were even beginning to fantasize about him in a not so descent way. The young man approached the teacher and gave him a note. After taking a moment to read the note the teacher then turned to his class to make an announcement.

"Alright class. I have an announcement to make. Starting today, we're going to have a new student joining us." The teacher said motioning his hand towards the young man. "Well go on. Introduce yourself."

The young man stepped forward. He was wearing a white undershirt with a black button-up over shirt which was unbuttoned. He had on black khakis and a black belt. He also wore black boots. He had red eyes and red hair with black streaks. He wore a big cross around his neck and had a rosary tied around his right wrist. He looked around the classroom and noticed Cerica. '_Well, seems like she's in my class. I'll have to see is we have all the same classes_.' He then went back around to scanning the rest of his class before he cleared his throat.

"My name is Lucas Ketsu. It's a pleasure to meet all of you. I hope we can be good friends."

Thus begins the story and many adventures of Lucas and his friends. What dangers will he face? What other powers will he display? How will he go about life without revealing his true identity as a half-demon? Find out in the next chapter of Kamen Rider Shadow.

Toku Warrior: Well, how was this first chapter to my newest story. Love it, hate it, let me know. Please send me reviews.


	2. Of Angels And Demons

_I do not own the Kamen Rider franchise. I do own this series as it is one that I created. Any characters that I use that do not belong to me will be credited to their original owners and creators at the end of each chapter. Please R & R._

**Chapter 2: Of Angels and Demons**

Author: Toku Warrior

Rated T+: for Strong language and suggestive dialog

E-Mail:

It was a bright and warm Wednesday morning. It had been three weeks since Kamen Rider Shadow first made his appearance and he hadn't been seen since. It has also been three weeks since Lucas Ketsu moved to New Metro City and started attending Cheridum High School for his junior year. He was a little leery at first about coming to this high school because of the rumors he had heard about it. It had quite the reputation for monster and demon attacks but also had a good reputation since a few members of the faculty and student body were members of either the Divine Order or the Hunters Guild.

Since it was a Wednesday morning, every one of the students were in their classes preparing for the day. It was still only homeroom and the bell to start first period wouldn't ring for another 15 minutes. Lucas was sitting at his desk reading a horror novel while all the other students were busy chatting about their own lives with their friends. Just as Lucas was getting to the good part of his book (the girl was about to find out her boyfriend was a monster), he felt a tap on his shoulder.

Lucas brought his face out of his book and turned around to see a young man with dirty blond hair and chocolate brown eyes starring right back at him. The young man looked to be about a year younger than Lucas. He wore glasses with rectangular lenses, a white t-shirt with a green unbuttoned shirt over it. He also wore blue jeans and white sneakers. The young man also wore a bright smile as Lucas turned his head to great him.

"Oh, hi Jacob. What's up?"

"Not much. I was wondering if you were going to be busy after school later today." he asked.

"Not really. I don't have any plans for this afternoon. Why, something up?"

"Actually, I was wondering if you could….possibly give me any dating tips….and maybe even some advice on how to….ask a girl out?" he asked nervously.

Lucas starred at his friend wish a small grin on his face. They had only known each other for three weeks and yet they were already the best of friends. Lucas also knew that Jacob didn't have a girlfriend, not to mention he didn't have much luck in that department since most of, in not just about all, the girls avoided him. Though, Jacob did talk about one girl in particular. From what Lucas had heard, he had one other friend that was a girl. They had been friends since early childhood and from what Lucas could gather about how Jacob talked about her, it seemed that Jacob had developed a crush on her.

"Let me guess, you want to ask your old childhood friend out, don't you?"

"W-What? How did you know that?" Jacob asked, taken aback with shock.

"I knew because half the time we talk, you end up talking about her. And every time you bring her up, you either have a very happy tone or a slight blush on your face. I'd call it puppy love but it could be a deep, unrequited love seeing as she hasn't returned your feelings yet. This means, she either rejected you or you've never even confessed to her yet. Which is it?"

"Um….i-it's….the latter." Jacob replied with a blush on his face.

"I thought so. Well, for starters, I need to meet this lucky girl who has stolen your heart. I need to make sure she would be the perfect one for you."

"Do you have to meet her?"

"Hmm, what, some wrong with that?"

"N-no, not really. It's just….she….doesn't get along with people she's never met before very well. There was this one time this guy from the football team tried to forcefully ask her out a week after we first started coming to this high school. Well, let's just say he won't be having kids anytime soon." Jacob told him with a small sound of laughter in his voice.

"Man, that bad of a temper huh?" Lucas laughed.

"You could say that. Look, I'll introduce you two, but don't be surprised if she's not entirely thrilled to meet you. She….doesn't open up her cheery side to people very easily."

"Fair enough. So tell me, Romeo, does your little Juliet have a name?"

"H-her name is…..Samantha." Jacob replied with a deep blush sweeping over his face.

As if on cue by the saying of her name, the door to their classroom slammed open, scarring the heck out of the other students. A beautiful young girl with bright pink eyes stepped in. She had her long green hair let loose and it reached the small of her back. She wore a yellow t-shirt with a green, see-through, top-tie blouse over it. She also wore a bright green skirt, a pair of long, black stocking that reached mid thigh, and a pair of black sneakers. Around her neck was a small charm that resonated with a small holy aura.

Her eyes quickly scanned the room for someone and they quickly found their target. She immediately ran at her object of desire and immediately glomped him. Lucas starred in shock as the beautiful young girl was smothering Jacob in a hug, pressing his face between her soft mounds while moving his head side-to-side. Lucas let out a small sigh at the sight. This, apparently, must be the girl that Jacob was in love with. He also began to notice something else about the girl. She was letting off some kind of familiar aura that was being suppressed by her charm. Of course, he then noticed Jacob's arms flailing as he wasn't able to breathe so Lucas gently tapped the girl on the shoulder.

"What?!" the girl asked with a scowl while glaring daggers at him.

"Umm, I think Jacob needs to come up for air now." Lucas said weakly while pointing to Jacob's lifeless figure.

"Oh my god! Jacob, I'm so sorry. Are you ok?" she asked him sweetly while placing her right hand gently against his cheek, causing him to blush.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It great to see you in your usual chipper form today, Sammy."

"Yeah, well that's because I had a great breakfast and because I go to walk with you to school today." Sammy cooed to him.

"So Jacob, I take it that this is Samantha? The girl you've been telling me about for these past three weeks." Lucas interjected.

"Yeah, this is Samantha….or Sammy for short. Of course, never call her that. I seem to be the only one allowed to do so."

"Dooly noted and point taken. So, Miss Samantha. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. Jacob wasn't lying about you have a bright and loving personality."

"Yep, that's me. I'm actually surprised that Jacob even talks about me. I mean, he really doesn't have that many friends."

"Sammy, please…" Jacob wined.

"It's ok Jacob. Actually Samantha, I just moved here three weeks ago and Jacob has been more than helpful in showing me around both the school and the city. So I think of him as one of the first friends I've made since moving here."

"Well that's awfully nice of you Jacob. Oh, speaking of which. Jacob, let's go to that new shopping outlet they just opened up after school. I heard they have this gorgeous café there."

"I'd love to Sammy, but I already made plans to hang out with Lucas after school."

"Huh…oh. Well, that's ok then…I guess." she sighed.

"I have an idea. Samantha, Jacob wanted to talk to me about something that's been bugging him lately. Of course, I have a feeling you'll be of better help than I can so why don't all three of us hang out. You and Jacob can enjoy the café while I figure out a solution to his little dilemma. ."

"Lucas!!!" Jacob yelled.

"I think that's a great idea. But Jacob, Why didn't you tell me something was bugging you? I would have helped you sooner." Sammy asked in a small hurtful tone.

"Well…um…you see…um…I…actually…l-lo—"

The door to the classroom opened again with the teacher stepping through, followed by Cerica and Drake. The teacher looked at Sammy who then realized she needed to get back to her class. She turned to leave and when she got back to the door, she turned back around and blew Jacob a kiss while giving him a seductive wink. This cause a lot of the male students in the class to hoot and hauler and make kissy sounds at Jacob. The teacher instructed his students to be quiet and told them to take their seats. Jacob got up and went back to his seat at the front of the last row near the window in which Drake sat behind him. Cerica wet to her seat which was right next to Lucas. She looked at him and waved slightly while giving him a small wink.

**Outlet** **Shopping Center**

A young woman was out behind one of the stores taking her 15 minute break from work. Apparently, she had been working since early morning and she was already beat.

"Damn it, if I have to help one more stuck up little wench, I swear I'm gonna break something. Ugh! I hate my life sometimes!" the young woman shouted.

"Susie! Hurry up and finish your break and then get your ass back in here! School will be letting out soon so we have to be ready!" the store owner shouted.

"Alright! Just let me have a smoke and I'll be right in! Sheesh! Pushy, anal old bastard. Thinks every one can work non-stop like a slave robot. I should give him a piece of my mind." Susie complained quietly.

She pulled out a pack of cigarettes and was about to light one up when she heard a noise come from behind the dumpster. She walked over slowly to inspect it when a handsome looking man with a pale complexion stepped out from behind the dumpster. She looked him up and down and blushed. He has short silver hair and red, slitted eyes. He had an average build that made him look dreamy to any girl that looked upon him. He was wearing blue jeans with brown boots, a white buttoned-up t-shirt and a black vest. He definitely wasn't hard on the eyes. Susie continued to stare at the man who just looked right back at her.

Their eyes met and the shine in Susie's eyes slowly faded away as they glazed over. The young man let a small smirk cross his face and he calmly walked over to the girl. He starred into her eyes some more as she starred back with a distant look. He leaned in closer and smelled her hair, '_Ah, what a lovely scent_.' He thought. He then pressed his lips gently against her and gave her a small passionate kiss which she returned. She moaned at the pleasure her body was starting to feel.

He then released the kiss and then started to lick the right side of her neck. Susie's face blushed even more and she moaned louder at the contact. The man then opened his mouth to reveal a pair of sharp fangs as he pulled Susie into a gentle hug. Her arms wrapped around his back and she grabbed his vest. He then pressed his fangs against the skin of her neck and bite down. Susie let out a much louder moan of pleasure from the bite as the man began drinking her blood.

The experience of being drained was enough to make her body shudder with delight. Her mind began to race as her body got hotter and hotter. She felt so hot she felt like she was about to climax right there. Of course, she would never have the chance as her heart slowed down until it stopped beating all together. Her arms slumped to her sides and hung there, dangling lifelessly. The man then let her go and she fell to the ground. The man licked his lips and let out a pleased sigh of content as his eyes glowed a bright red. '_Ah, virgin blood is just so….invigorating. Well, school is about to let out so I better hurry and prepare for my next meal_.'

Another being stepped out from behind the dumpster and was dressed the exact way though with a few differences. His hair was long and black. He wore a black shirt with a white vest and a pair of khakis. He stood next to his friend and looked down at the lifeless body of the girl.

"Mind if I have my fill, partner?" the man asked the vampire.

"Be my guest. Just make sure to properly dispose of the remains. We don't want to scare off our…._desert_."

**After School**

**New Metro City Outlet Mall**

School was out for the day and Lucas, Jacob and Samantha were walking around the new outlet mall, admiring all the stores. They had passed a couple of jewelry stores while they were there and every time they did, they had to stop so Samantha could admire them. Lucas just sat on a bench while he waited outside as he watched Jacob accompany Samantha into every Jewelry store that was there. He just let out a sigh and smiled to himself. '_It's like they're on a date and I'm just along for the ride_.' He thought to himself.

As he was watching them enjoy themselves, a woman with bouncy green hair and silver eyes was walking down the sidewalk. She wore a green blouse with frills at the shoulders, a white skirt that reached her knees and a pair of blue high heels. She looked like she was in her mid twenties. Walking next to her was a young girl who looked like she was twelve. She had long blue hair that went down to the small of her back and blue eyes. She wore a yellow mid-drift t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans with frilled edges and a pair of white sneakers. They continued down the sidewalk until they came to the jewelry store where Lucas was waiting.

"Mama, I wanna go into the jewelry store and see if they still have that necklace I want." The girl told her mother.

"Alright, I'll wait here for you." The woman replied. The girl nodded and headed into the store.

The woman walked over to where Lucas was sitting, "Is this seat taken," she asked, gesturing towards the empty spot of the bench next to him. He patted his hand on the empty spot, motioning for her to sit down and then returned his gaze back towards the store. The woman sat down next to him and the moment her body came into contact with the bench, her head snapped up in alert. She turned her gaze back unto Lucas and starred at him in shock.

'_This feeling, it's coming from him. It's familiar yet in a way, I haven't felt it in a long time. It's dark, and also very powerful. Yet, at the same time, gentle and calm_.' she thought to herself as she continued to look at him. There was something about him that worried her.

Lucas felt the woman starring at him but just ignored it. He was more concerned from the aura that was emanating from her. '_That aura. I know it. I've felt this type of aura before. No mistaking it, she's an angel_.' he thought as he continued to look on at Jacob who was being dragged around the whole store by his arm as Samantha tugged him along. Lucas was about to get up when his cell phone began to ring (his ring tone is the song 'Fencer of Gold' from JAM Project). He pulled his right hand out of his pocket where the phone was located and flipped open the phone to see who was calling him.

At the same time he pulled his phone out, the rosary attached to his wrist came out from the pocket as well. The woman noticed the rosary and immediately sensed the strong, holy aura emanating from it. '_That rosary. If he's what I think he is, then why would he be wearing it? Wait! Could he be using it as a seal_?' she thought as she continued to wonder what he was wearing the rosary for.

Lucas looked at the caller ID and grimaced at the number. He was contemplating on whether to answer it or not when his gentlemen-like manners kicked in. How he hated those manners that his grandfather forced him to learn. He pressed the talk button and placed the phone to his ear.

"Hello."

"_Lucas. Is that you_?"

"Who wants to know?"

"_Lucas, it's me_."

"Me. Me who. You'll have to be more specific."

"_It's me…..Elli_."

"I'm sorry, I don't know an Elli. You must have me confused with some other Lucas. Goodbye."

"_No brother! Please, wait. I just want to talk to y_—" click.

Lucas hung up and then turned off his cell phone. His grandfather had given him his parents new home phone number a couple of weeks before he passed away. He figured that Lucas may want to try and mend the shattered family ties between him and his parents and sister. Of course, behind Lucas's back, he had given them Lucas's cell phone number but had also told them to wait a few more years before calling him. He apparently still didn't want anything to do with them. Lucas just rubbed the bridge of his nose with his right hand while groaning, allowing his rosary to dangle next to his arm.

"Um…excuse me young man." The woman called out to him.

"Sorry, no offense, but I don't really like to converse with angels." he replied quickly.

"H-h-how did you know I was an angel?" she asked in a shocked tone.

"Probably the same way you can sense that I'm a half-demon. Anything else?" Lucas replied sarcastically.

"Hey, no need for the attitude. I was just curious."

"Well, from most of my experiences with angels, it never pays off to converse with your kind. Every time one of you comes across me, you just immediately try and kill me just because I exist. That alone gives me enough reason to be harsh."

"Now that's not being fair. Unlike most of my kind, I don't judge people the moment I see them. If anything, I'd rather talk with a person first and let their words convince me otherwise. So instead of being rude, why don't we just have a polite conversation?" she asked.

"Oh really? What would an angel, such as yourself, want to discuss with a half-demon like me anyway?"

"Well, I just wanted to know a little bit about you. I mean, when I first sat down next to you, you had a sense of calm and peace. Then when your phone rang and you answered it, your persona did a 180 and you were letting off nothing but darkness and hatred. I don't mean to pry, but I'm willing to lend a friendly ear if you want to vent to someone. You've got nothing to lose. I won't even judge you by what you tell me."

Lucas just looked at her in disbelief and shock. It wasn't everyday that an angel was willing to listen to what a half-demon had on his mind. He was never that lucky and this was a first for him. He thought about it for a moment then decided that it couldn't hurt.

"Ok, why don't we start with introductions first. I'm Lucas Ketsu. As you can already guess, I'm a half-demon. Thought the type of half-demon that I am is kind of a personal subject with me so don't ask of my demonic heritage. Deal?"

"Fair enough. Though I have a pretty good idea of what your demon side is. Anyway, my name is Carol Davis. I'm an angel, as you've already stated, and I'm also a member of the Divine Order."

Upon hearing her state her last name, his eyes went wide in shock. He knew only one other person with the name Davis and that was Cerica. He then looked Carol over and then was stunned at just how much she resembled Cerica. It then hit him like a load of bricks. Cerica was an angelic half-breed.

"What's wrong? You ok?" Carol asked him in a concerned voice.

"I'm fine. Tell me, you wouldn't happen to be related to a Cerica Davis by any chance, would you?"

"You know my daughter?!" Carol asked in a surprised tone.

"She's a classmate of mine. Oh, don't worry though, she doesn't know about me being a half-demon and I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell her either."

"Don't worry. I won't. It's probably better that way too, seeing as she hates all demons."

"Really, why's that?" Lucas asked with a concerned tone in his voice.

"Well, you see. Her father, my late husband, was human. One night, a SS Class demon broke into the Order and attacked us. A lot of people died that night. During the attack, it noticed my two daughters and lunged for them. My husband, being the overprotective father he was, jumped in front on them and took the hit. The demon impaled him through his stomach. We fought the demon and tried to kill it but it escaped. I cried and mourned for a long time; but no where near as long as Cerica." Carol replied with a small tear starting to form in her left eye.

"I'm sorry. I had no idea. You have my sympathy. In all honesty, you should have every right to hate demons."

"I don't hate all demons. Just the ones with the intent on causing pain and suffering. My youngest daughter, Emily, feels the same way I do. She's the one you saw go into the store a few minutes ago. Cerica on the other hand…..she hates all demons with a passion. She made a vow to kill every last demon she could find. Both pure blooded……and half-breed. I'd be careful around her if I were you Lucas. It might be even better if you stay away from her. Her basic and angelic forms are powerful to fight on par with an S Class demon."

"I see. Hey, hold on. You said that the demon escaped. You don't mean that no one's captured and killed it yet, do you?"

"Yes, it's still around. We're also sure that it's gotten even stronger. Of course, so has Cerica.

"Really, how?" Lucas asked even thought he secretly knew that she was a Rider.

"Let's just say she has a little help from a spiritual familiar in that department."

"Oh, you mean one like him?"

"One like who? Where?" Carol asked looking around with a confused look on her face.

"Look down at your shadow for a moment." Lucas said with a small smirk while pointing down.

Carol did as he told her and looked at her shadow. What she saw surprised her. A small black, dragon-like, creature appeared in the shadow and emerged from it. It hovered in the air and bowed it's head politely. She gazed upon the creature and noticed that it's body was mostly gas, just like Eris. That's when it hit her. She starred in disbelief. She remembered what Cerica had told her. The new Rider had the aura and presence of a half-demon and his buckle was in the shape of a dragons' head.

"You…you're the—?" she was about to ask when Lucas gave her a cold stare.

"Allow me to introduce friend and partner. This is my spirit familiar and arms partner, Draconis. I expect this information to not leave this bench, Mrs. Davis." he warned her.

"Of course. You have my word. I'll keep his existence a secret. That is if you promise not to reveal Cerica's secret. Speaking of Cerica. You should still be careful around her. She may probably figure out that you're a half-demon sooner or later and may attack you because of her hatred for demons."

"I'll keep that in mind the next time our paths cross."

She just looked at the young man and laughed. She never thought she'd meet a half-demon like him. Most, if not just about all, half-demons hated both angels and humans though she never fully understood why. Deep down, she believed that Lucas may be just the person to help Cerica overcome that hatred of hers and help heal her heart. That was when she secretly vowed to do whatever she could to get those two together.

"Pretty strange huh. Our races are suppose to be eternal enemies and yet, here we are talking together as if we've been friends for years. It's a time of angels and demons isn't it?

"You could be right about that.

**Inside the Jewelry Store**

Samantha was looking at every single piece of jewelry with sparkles in her eyes. Every time she saw something that she liked, she would drag Jacob to the place where the item was. He didn't mind though. He loved seeing her happy and her smile always brightened up his day. As Samantha was looking over a display of 14k gold lockets, she saw one in the shape of a heart with a diamond embedded in the center of it. Her heart stopped when she saw how beautiful it looked. Of course, when she saw the price her head sank into her shoulders because she knew she could never afford it. Jacob saw her depressed state and headed over to her side.

"What's wrong Sammy?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I just saw the perfect locket but it's way outta my price range."

"Which one is it?"

"It's that one, right there." she pointed to the locket 3rd from the left in the front row.

Jacob saw which one she was looking at and when he saw the price he nearly doubled back in shock. He'd seen expensive jewelry before but that was pretty steep. He then looked at Sammy and saw how much she wanted it. (For those wondering, the locket was close $1,000. Hey, it has a big diamond in it.) After thinking about it for a moment he decided he should ask Lucas for advice.

"Hey Sammy, I'll be right back. I need to ask Lucas something. You just look around for a bit more." He told her as he exited the store.

When Jacob exited the store he looked for Lucas and noticed him sitting on a bench talking to a beautiful woman. That was when he recognized the woman as Cerica's mother. He headed over to them who in turn looked up at Jacob.

"What's up Jacob? Where's Samantha?" Lucas asked.

"She's still inside, looking at a very _expensive_ locket. That's why I came out here."

"Why Jacob, have you finally found a girlfriend?" Carol asked him in a cooing voice.

"Come now Mrs. Davis, that's the reason why he's here today. He came up to me in class to ask for lady advice."

"Really, Cerica will be so happy for him. She's always thought of you as a little brother Jacob."

"That's nice but right now I really need some advice. Lucas, that locket, do you think I should buy it for her as a gift?"

"Well that depends. Have you confessed to her yet?"

"N-no…not exactly."

"Then the answer is no."

"Huh?" asked Carol who was confused by the answer.

"Why can't I?"

"It's simple. You love Samantha, right?" Jacob nodded. "And the locket is very expensive, right?" Jacob nodded again. "Well then, that kind of gift is something a lover gets for his better half. She's not your girlfriend yet so that's a no-no. Confess to her first then buy the locket."

"But what if she doesn't feel the same way that I feel towards her? What'll I do? I never loved anyone else like this before."

Before Lucas could answer his question, Samantha walked out of the jewelry store with Emily in tow. She had a sad expression on her face which then turned bright and cheery when she saw Jacob standing there. '_Jewelry doesn't matter. As long as I have Jacob by my side, then I have all that I need_.' she thought as she walked next to him and hooked her arm around his, pressing her chest against his shoulder. This caused Jacob to blush which was also shared by Samantha. Lucas saw this and then got an idea. He just needed a distraction.

Down the block Cerica, Drake and his girlfriend Lilith, were walking towards the same direction that Lucas and the others were located. As they were walking, two pairs of glowing red and yellow eyes watched as they made their way towards the others. They were looking at the girls of the two groups until they decided which one they wanted. Their eyes honed in and focused on a young girl with long blue hair….Emily was their next target.

As they were walking down the side walk, Cerica looked towards the jewelry store and saw both Lucas and her mother talking. She then noticed that Emily, Jacob and Samantha were with them. She turned her head and motioned for Drake and Lilith to hurry up as she began running to greet everyone, calling out to them as she got closer.

Emily heard her sister calling out to her and turned her head to see Cerica running towards them with Drake and Lilith in tow. A big smile crossed her face as she waved at them. A moment later, Cerica and the other made it to the group and now everyone was together. Lilith was looking at everyone and then stopped immediately when her eyes fell upon Lucas. She started feeling dark and powerful energy coming from him. She then used her 6th sense as a witch and looked at him more closely and then her eyes confirmed her feelings. Now, not only could she sense his dark energy, but she could also see it and it looked like it could flood the entire district. Her eyes narrowed at him as she was unsure as to what he was.

"Oh, hi sweetie." Carol called to her eldest daughter who blushed at the nickname.

"Mother! How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that in public?" Cerica wined.

"Oh, stop. You use to always love it when I called you that."

"Mother please! I'm 17 years old now. I'm not little anymore so enough with the baby names."

"Why not? I think it's kinda cute." Lucas responded which earned him both a blush from Cerica as well as having her glare daggers at him.

"Watch it pal. That my friend you're antagonizing and people who mess with her have to deal with me." Drake warned him.

"Easy there big guy. What's the harm in calling her sweetie? I mean a pretty nickname that matches an even prettier face just fits don't ya think?" he asked Drake while winking at Cerica, causing her face to turn beat red.

Just as Cerica was about to make a comeback, everyone's eyes widened in surprise at hearing a low sounding rumble. After a moment of looking for the source, everyone turned heir heads towards Drake, who was looking sheepishly at the others, placed one hand on his stomach while placing his other hand behind his head.

"Whoops. Guess I'm kinda hungry." Drake said while smiling sheepishly.

"We noticed. Actually, getting something to eat right about now sounds pretty good." Samantha said to the others.

"Well, who do we stick with going over to order the food?" Emily asked while they all started heading towards a nearby Burger Meister.

"I know, let's send Lucas and Cerica." Carol shouted instantly.

Everyone looked at the angelic woman strangely as a sweat drop appeared next to each of their heads. Lucas and Cerica looked at each other and then looked back at Carol and, together, gave her a clear answer. "No!"

"But, but, but, b—." Carol began but was cut off by Lucas.

"I have an idea. Why doesn't Samantha come with me instead? This way Cerica can talk to Jacob about his girl troubles and I can talk to Samantha about something important." Lucas volunteered.

"That sounds reasonable. All in favor?" Lilith asked.

"Ay!" Lucas, Cerica, Drake, Lilith and Emily declared.

"Ne!" Carol, Jacob and Samantha declared.

"Looks like the ayes have it. Let's go Samantha."

**The Burger Meister Restaurant**

Lucas and Samantha waited in line to place their orders for about 10 minutes. During that time, Lucas hadn't said a thing and Samantha was getting pretty irritated at him for not saying a word. So she decided to be the one to break the ice.

"Ok pal. Start talking! Why did you want to talk to me for anyway?"

"I guess I'll get straight to the point. Samantha, tell me, what kid of relationship do you have with Jacob?"

Samantha stepped back in shock as a blush spread across her face. She didn't know how to answer him. '_What is my relationship with him? I don't even know myself sometimes_.' she thought.

"Well?" Lucas asked again.

"Well…umm…ya see…" Samantha started but she couldn't finish as she began to blush even more, hiding her face behind her purse.

"Let me guess……you're in love with him aren't you?" Lucas said bluntly.

"Huh! B-b-but…h-how…d-did yo—?" She tried to stutter out but was unable to complete her sentence do to being completely embarrassed and blushing madly.

"Easy actually. The way you act around him, the way you talk to him, and the way you treat him. For instance, he's the only one who's aloud to call you Sammy. That can be conceived by some as a type of 'pet' name. You completely smother him when you hug him. He's really the only guy you talk to in the whole school. From what he told me one time, you completely dressed up for the time you guys went to an amusement park which means you were treating it as a date. You give him obvious advances that he never picks up on. Even now, just a few minutes ago you gave me an obvious clue. Jacob told me you were looking at an expensive locket with a diamond in the center. If I remember correctly, he said it was pretty. Did I miss anything?" Lucas stated the obvious with a small smirk.

Samantha's head shrunk into her shoulders as she blushed a red that was redder than crimson. She held her purse in front of her face so as to make sure that no one could see it. Lucas looked down at her and smiled in victory. Phase 1 of his plan was done and that was to find out if Samantha really loved Jacob. But before he could move to phase 2, which meant for Jacob and Samantha to confess their feeling towards one another, he had to find something out first. This would be the real, touchy part of the issue. If he wasn't careful, his plan could backfire. He waited until they ordered their food which was pretty hard seeing as Samantha kept on stuttering ever few words in a sentence. After the food was ordered he motioned for her to follow him over to an empty table for a private conversation. Jacob and the others had noticed this and Jacob was getting worried. He noticed that Samantha was a little upset and that her face was all red.

"I wonder what they could be talking about." Emily said to no one in particular.

"I don't know. But it looks rather important seeing as they're sitting alone with one another." Cerica stated.

"Hey, maybe Lucas said he loved her and asked her out." Drake said stupidly.

"WHAT?!" Carol, Cerica and Jacob said in unison, glaring at drake with murderous eyes.

"N-nothing." Drake piped up as he shrunk away and hid behind Lilith.

Jacob thought about things for a second before getting up and running off towards the jewelry store they were in earlier. He went over to the clerk and asked her if he could purchase the heat shaped locket. Fortunately for Jacob, his family was pretty well of seeing as his parents were famous inventors.

**Outside the Jewelry Store**

After about 10 minutes of filling out papers, warranties, and a few other things, Jacob left the store with the locket gift wrapped in a small box which was tucked away in his jacket pocket. Just as he was about to round the corner where the rest of his friends were at he ran into something solid. He fell back on his butt and whacked his arm on the pavement, spraining his wrist. He shook his head a bit and looked up to see a few people from the school football team looking down at him with murderous intent in their eyes.

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here fellas." Stated one of the jocks.

"It looks like the dork doesn't know how to pay attention or he'd of known to move aside when a real man is walking by." Stated another one.

"Guess not. Let's teach him a lesson." stated the leader who then picked Jacob up by the scruff of his shirt and dragged him into a nearby alley.

The jocks slammed Jacob into a wall, back first, and pinned him there by his shoulders. One of the other jocks, the leader, rummage through Jacobs pockets and found the small wrapped box which contained the locket. The jock tore it open and pulled out the locket. He looked at it and whistled in appreciation at the beauty of the object. He then turned it over and read the inscription on the back. '_To Samantha, My One True Love_.' The jock did a mock tear wipe and laughed at Jacob right before punching him directly in the gut. The other jocks let him go as he slumped over and coughed up blood.

"What kind of fucking piece of shit is this? You plan on confessing to her with a puny piece of shit like this? What makes you think you have the right to even talk to a babe like her?" the jock asked as he continuously punched, kicked, elbowed, and kneed Jacob, causing him to cough up more blood.

"I don't get it. Why does a babe like Wilcox hang around a shrimpy little shit like him when she could have a real man like you boss?" one of the other jocks asked.

"I don't know. Say fellas. How's about you show the shrimp how real men fight why I go woo me a babe?"

"You got it boss." The other jocks replied in unison.

The jock leader left as words like "Take this you little shrimp," "Die you fucking pansy," and "I've always wanted to kick your ass," were being shouted by the other jocks as they continued to beat up Jacob.

**Back at the Restaurant**

"Samantha, can I ask you something very personal?" Lucas asked cautiously.

"Sure." Samantha answered back quietly.

"I'm going to be very blunt about this so please forgive me if I over step my bounds here. I just wanted to know if Jacob knew you were a half-demon."

"Huh?!" Samantha's head shot up in alarm. '_How did he find out? Did Jacob tell him? No, he wouldn't have done something like that_.' she thought worriedly. "H-how did you know?"

"Let's just say it takes one to know one." Lucas told her with a small smile.

"What do you mean it takes one to kn—……What, you mean you're a half-breed too?!" Samantha shouted loud enough to where people starred back at them weirdly.

"Shhhh! Not so loud. I don't want everyone to know that right now."

"Oops. Sorry."

"It's ok. So does Jacob know about, well, you know?"

"Yes, he does. He's known about that ever since we were little. I was hanging out with him and his family one day when we were attacked by a low level monster. Out of pure instinct to protect those closest to me, I transformed into my hybrid demon form and killed the monster. The only problem was that the Levy family saw this. His parents were scarred of me and I was about to run away crying, thinking I had ruined my one chance at a normal life. But Jacob ran up to me and hugged me tightly, telling me that it was alright. He didn't care what I was because to him I was still his friend. His parents accepted me right after that. It was at that point in time that I fell in love with Jacob." Samantha finished her story and looked at Lucas who had a few tears starting to form in his eyes.

"Now that was a beautiful story my dear. Truly a piece that shows that love can exist, no matter what species it is."

After they finished talking they looked back at their group of friends and suddenly noticed that Jacob was missing. Wondering where he was, Samantha and Lucas got up only for Samantha's arm to be grabbed from behind, forcing her to look behind her. She wasn't impressed as she saw the school quarterback starring at her with his ugly mug.

"What do you want Freddy?" she asked in an annoyed tone.

"Awe, don't be like that babe. Here, look. I got you a present to show you how much I love ya." the jock said as he held out the locket. Samantha was stunned at seeing the same locket that she was wanting earlier in the hands of this jock.

"How did you get that locket? I happen to know for a fact that you can't afford things like this."

"You know what they say babe. Love knows no bounds." the jock replied with an ugly smile which showed he was missing a tooth.

The jock held out the locket so that Samantha could take it. That was when Lucas' eyes went wide as he smelled the air around the jock. He could smell the blood of another human on him. Even worse was that he knew this scent. It was the smell of Jacob's blood. He knew this smell as Jacob had cut his finger a week earlier in one of the class science experiments. Just as Samantha was about to take the locket, Lucas swiped it from the jocks hands and looked at him coldly. The others saw this and went over to see what was up.

"What's wrong Lucas?" Carol asked.

"Yeah, ya scrawny punk. Why ya interfering with me mak'n a move on my girl?" the jock asked angrily.

"I'll tell you why. One, there's no way you could afford this locket as Samantha already stated. Two, there's know way you could have known that this was the exact locket that she wanted. Only four people know that she wanted this locket. Those people are I, Mrs. Carol Davis, Jacob, and Samantha herself." Lucas announced which made the jock sweet with fear.

"So I'm gonna ask you a question." Lucas narrowed his eyes at the jock and they began to glow a dark crimson red. He then said in a deep, menacing voice, "Where's Jacob?!"

Emily was still staying near the table while everyone else was interrogating the jock. That was when she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her, while a pair of hands wrapped around her mouth to keep her quiet. The two people dragged her back into an alley way with no one the wiser. While that was happening, Samantha had the jock in a choke hold, demanding what he had done with Jacob. That was when Lucas felt a diminishing presence. He quickly looked around and noticed that Emily was nowhere to be found. That was when the jock broke down and admitted to what he had done and what was currently happening to Jacob. Lucas then decided that it was time to act.

"Samantha, go to where they're keeping Jacob and rescue him. Take the locket with you so he knows that you got it. Make sure to tell him how you really feel too. Drake, Lilith, Cerica, can I get you guys to go back here up?"

"Sure, what's up? Aren't you going to come with us?" Drake asked.

"Unfortunately, I can't. Something has come up that requires my immediate attention.

Everyone began to berate Lucas for not wanting to go with them but Samantha had also felt the disappearance of Emily's presence. She began to quiet everyone down, explaining that she knew what Lucas was talking about but that she couldn't tell them just yet. She then looked at Lucas and gave him a smile which was meant as a thank you for all that he had done for her. With that done, Cerica, Lilith, Drake, and Samantha headed towards Jacob's location while Lucas knocked out the jock with a well placed punch to his gut. He then informed Carol what had transpired and her face went into shock.

"No, not my baby. Please, not her!" Carol began to cry as she stated bursting into tears.

"Carol, listen. You and I will get Emily back. All I ask is that no matter what, you don't not tell anyone of what you see when we rescue her. Deal?"

Carol nodded her head and the two of them ran off into the alleyway that they had last felt Emily's energy signature. Lucas looked at his shadow and a moment later, Draconis emerged from it and flew along side both the demonic half-breed and the angel, praying that Emily was still alive when they found her.

**Alleyway: (Jacob)**

The remaining jocks were still pounding and kicking Jacob who was lying against a dumpster, bleeding everywhere. The jocks backed away for a moment to admire their handy work when they heard a bunch of footsteps coming up from behind them. One of the jocks, thinking that it was the leader of their group returning with his prize, turned around to great the man only to be greeted with a fist to his face. The jock went down hard and landed in a puddle with a broken nose and barely conscious. The other jocks turned around d after seeing their comrade being knocked down only to be met with angry, murderous looks from Samantha, Lilith, Cerica and Drake (known throughout the school as the three goddesses and the titan). Drake cracked his knuckles, readying himself for the next face he was going to hit. Samantha looked past the jocks and over to the dumpster to Jacob lying there in a bloody mess.

"JACOB!!" she screamed as she ran to his side, bringing him down and laying his head in her lap. "Jacob, are you ok?" she asked as tears started to fall from her face and plop onto his forehead.

Cerica and Lilith made their way to their friends' side and looked down at the bloody and battered body that was Jacob. Cerica looked up at Samantha and could literally see her seething with anger and hatred which was being directed towards the jocks. Lilith looked at Samantha as well and placed one of her hands onto one of Samantha's and gave her a reassuring look. Samantha looked at the two girls trying to comfort her and ever more tears began to well up from her eyes. She looked over to Lilith with a pleading look.

"Please…..help him." Samantha pleaded to Lilith who gave her friend a gentle nod.

"I'll do what I can. My magic isn't usually meant for healing…but I can at least heal his more serious injuries. We should still get him to a hospital though, if it's possible." Lilith told the girls.

Samantha started to fell her body swelling up with unbridled rage which she wanted to unleash on the jock but decided against it for two reasons. The first would be because Jacob would have been against it. The second we be that if she did, she could very well end of giving away the one secret that she didn't want the others to know. She knew that Jacob knew about her being a half-demon because she showed him and Lucas knew because he figured it out after sensing her aura. She was also pretty sure the Cerica's mother knew as not much could get by that woman. But she could afford for the rest of her friends to find out. Especially when two of them had a very well known hatred towards those with demon blood. Her head sank into her shoulders as her anger grew even more and then lowered her head down some more until the only thing she could see was Jacobs face.

"Cerica…..Drake…..do me a favor." She begged.

"What?" Cerica and Drake asked in unison.

"Make them pay!" she shouted.

"Gladly" the two demon hunters said in unison again as they looked at each other and then at the jocks who then developed a look of terror in their eyes. One of the jocks wet his pants as he knew what was about to happen to them.

Drake rushed forward at the jocks slammed his right elbow into the face of one of the jocks. His momentum kept him going as he whirled around a bit more and then kneed another jock right in the crotch, sending flying into a far wall. The jocks head hit the wall and he was unconscious in an instant. The last two remaining jocks started to run towards the alley entrance when they noticed Cerica already standing there waiting for them.

"I can't stand people who pick on others that weaker than themselves!" Cerica shouted as she jumped up and landed a flying dropkick into the face of one of the jocks, sending him sprawling backwards into a trashcan.

The last remaining jock turned around and noticed Drake to his left. He turned towards the exit and noticed Cerica to his right. He was surrounded on all sides. That was when it happened. It had happened so fast that the jock was knocked out on the impact before he even knew what had hit him. What had hit him was Samantha not being able to get her own revenge.

She had suddenly bolted from her spot after Lilith had healed Jacob as best she could. She moved so fast that not even Drake or Cerica could keep up with her. The next thing everyone saw was the jocks body being pinned against a wall by Samantha who had done a flying knee rush into the jocks stomach. The force of the knee impacting his gut was enough to knock him out. Samantha removed her knee to allow the seemingly lifeless body of the last remaining jock to fall onto the ground. She turned her head towards the direction of where she had left Jacob and saw him slung over Drakes shoulder.

"I did all I could but he still needs some medical treatment if he's going to get better." Lilith stated. The others agreed and they hurried to the closest hospital so that Jacob could get the medical attention he needed.

'_Don't worry Jacob. We'll get you to a hospital and then when you get out, you and I can go on our first real date_.' Samantha said in her mind. She then let her mind wander off to the situation that had Lucas all worried. She just hoped, for the sake of people who took Emily, that the little girl was still alive. If she wasn't, then they'd not only have a very pissed off angel who was the girls mother, but a very pissed off demonic half-breed that would not hold back on punishment.

**Alleyway: (Emily)**

Emily was gagged and tied up and was sitting next to a small wooden crate. She looked at two men who seemed to be discussing dinner arrangements. One had long black hair and yellow eyes while the other had short silver hair and red, slitted eyes. She could recognize one of them for what he really was immediately. The one with the silver hair and red eyes was in fact a vampire. Though, she wasn't able to identify what the other one was. The two men then turned to her and licked their lips.

"It's been such a long time since we've feasted on a rare deliquesce such as yourself. You see, I love the blood of virgins and my partner here loves the flesh of virgins. But for us to feast on the flesh and blood of a virgin that's also an angelic half-breed is what we would consider a most savory treat indeed." the vampire told her.

"Hey, just remember to leave a bit of blood in her for me too. The blood of a virgin han-bun tenshi is the best seasoning for their flesh. Makes it taste…so exquisite." the other person told his partner.

"I suppose your right. I'll make sure to leave you some blood then. You've definitely done your work properly the past 400 years so a little treat is deserving." the vampire told his friend.

'_Oh great, I'm about to become food for two demons. What am I going to do? These ropes seems to make the use of my powers useless. Mama, big sister, Drake, somebody….help me_.' Emily thought as tears began to flow from her eyes. The two demons noticed this and smiled. It seemed that their meal had finally been doused with the 2 perfect seasonings…despair and fear.

"Well then, it's time for the feast…to begin. Are you ready Yamato?" the vampire asked his partner.

"Ready and waiting Fredrick." Yamato replied.

Fredrick bared his sharp fangs and then made eye contact with Emily. Unlike normal humans, Emily wouldn't be easily entranced but even she had her limits. After a few moments her eyes slowly began to glaze over. She felt her consciousness slipping. Another moment and her mind would be gone. Just as she was about to lose in her battle of wills, a small black dragon with a gas cloud body rammed right into Fredrick's head sending sprawling into a far wall. Yamato looked at his friend and then at the dragon. Just as he was about to attack the dragon a large blast of dark energy rushed towards him and then engulfed him, sending him into and through a dumpster. Emily shook her head to clear away the grogginess and was happy as could be when she saw her mother run up to her.

"Oh baby, are you alright?" Carol asked her youngest daughter as she began to untie her and then removed her gag.

"I'm fine, now that you're here mama. Thanks for rescuing me." Emily said but then noticed Lucas who was standing next to the small black dragon. "Hey mama, what's he doing here and who's the dragon?"

"I'm here to help you and this little guy right here is my arms partner, Draconis." Lucas told her.

"That's your arms partner. Then that must mean that you—" Emily was unable to finish as Yamato and Fredrick reappeared in their true forms fright before them.

"YOU! How dare you do this to us you fucking parasite. You just interrupted our meal time." Yamato howled at Lucas in a monstrous voice.

"You'll pay for your insolence boy!" Fredrick shouted.

Lucas easily recognized Fredrick as a vampire but had no idea what Yamato was. He looked at Emily and Carol who just shrugged their shoulders, stating that they didn't know what he was. He then got an idea. He took out his cell phone, too a quick picture and sent it as a text message to Samantha. He remembered that Jacob once told him that Samantha specialized in knowing almost anything and everything about demons, monsters, angels, and the supernatural. Yamato saw that his picture was taken and howled in anger.

"What do you think you're doing you little shit?!" Yamato demanded.

"Simple really, I have a friend that knows a lot about demons and monsters. I sent her your picture in hopes that she'd know what you are seeing as I've never seen your kind before." His phone then beeped with a reply. "Oh, speak of the devil. Now, let's see. So that's what you are. I'm gonna have to thank her for this later."

"So, what'd she say?" Carol asked him.

"She said he'd called a Lykross. They're a type of demonic werewolf. Only there are twice as strong and twice as fast. A real lethal powerhouse. They rank in the S Class of the demon and monster ranks." Lucas informed her.

"Like knowing what I am will do ya any good boy. You're still facing two S Class warriors here. You don't stand a chance against us." Yamato snarled.

"You wanna bet? Draconis, come!" Lucas shouted.

(Start song "Supernova")

"Hai!" Draconis shouted as he flew straight for Lucas.

Draconis flew right through Lucas' chest, causing the half-breeds eyes to widen at the feeling. As Draconis exited through Lucas' back, his gas cloud-like body solidified into a sword with three red gems running down the blade on both sides. Draconis then flew off to his masters left and did a sudden u-turn to head back for his masters front. Lucas extended his left arm out in front of him and grabbed the draconic sword by the hilt with his left hand. He then grabbed onto Draconis' head with his right hand and popped it off the bottom of the hilt. The moment the head was taken off from the sword a black cloud formed around Lucas' waist and circled him. After a moment the black cloud hardened and formed a black belt with gold trim. On the left side of the belt were to pouches which contained gem-like objects.

As Lucas brought Draconis' head in front of his face, a flute could be heard playing eerie music in the background. Lucas then slipped the dragon head buckle into the slot on the center of the belt, activating the final part of the transformation.

"HENSHIN!" Lucas shouted.

"DEMON BURST!" Draconis shouted as black clouds began to envelop Lucas's whole body.

After a moment of silence, the black cloud exploded away, leaving Kamen Rider Shadow where Lucas once stood. He wore a black body suit with red armor. His shoulder guards looked like grey demon heads with blue rounded tops. His chest armor was black in the center and looked like muscle. There was also a gold crest in the area where his abs were located. His arm gauntlets and chest armor had glowing purple gems embedded in them. His hands were clad in armor padding and the tips of his armored fingers were in the shape of claws.

He wore knee high boots that were red on the outer half and silver on the inner half. His helmet was also black in color with a silver mouth plate and he his eyes pieces were pointy and blood red. His right arm, shoulder, and whole leg were covered in black tribal patterns and were reeking with dark energy. Wrapped around his upper right arm and his right wrist were the same pair of rosaries that he had on the last time when he had saved Cerica and Rachel from the pack of wolf monsters. Yamato and Fredrick saw this and were then filled with fear at the demonic energy they were feeling.

Carol and Emily were also scarred as their senses were being overwhelmed. To Emily, she felt like she was drowning in a sea of total darkness. For Carol, she just let her mind wander through her memories, trying to remember the last time she felt such dark and overwhelming power. True, Lucas' power was no where near that of Lucifer or even Jehovah but it could easily match those of even the most powerful generals of both Heaven and Hell. Though, to her, it felt like his power was being limited, as if he wasn't able to use all of it at his own beck-n-call. That was when she remembered his rosary. That was why he wore it. It was meant to contain his overwhelming dark power. If he needed to wear one, then that would mean he couldn't fully control his power when it was at full strength.

Lucas looked at the two S Class demons and let out a slight chuckle. This infuriated the two of them who then charged at the demonic Rider. Before he even made a move, Lucas sent a telepathic message to both Carol and Emily. '_While I'm in my Rider form, just call me…Yami. This way, no one else will figure out that it's me under this armor_.' The two girls nodded and that was when he went on the attack.

Yami ducked a punch coming from Yamato that was aimed for his head and spun around, performing a spinning roundhouse to the demons gut which sent him flying into and through a building. Yamato ended up in the back warehouse of a clothing store and when he tried to get up a female employee screamed at the top of her lungs at the sight of him. "URUSAI!" Yamato shouted at her which caused her to faint. While this happened, Yami and Fredrick were exchanging elbow and fist with one another. For every punch Yami threw, Fredrick blocked it and vise-verse. Fredrick then tried to swipe at the demonic Rider with his claws while Yami just stood there. The claws made contact but nothing happened. Well, something did happen. That was Fredrick screaming in pain at the feeling of his claws being ripped of the quick of his fingers when he tried to strike his opponent.

Yami brought his index and middle fingers on his left hand and summoned his blood whip. He lashed out at the vampire with the energy weapon which the vampire easily avoided. Yami was about to give chase when Yamato burst out of the building he was in and landed a punch into the half-breeds face. Yami was sent flying as he hit a wall which left a full body impression. Carol and Emily started to cheer Yami on, hoping that their cheers would give him strength. It looked like Yami slightly underestimated his two opponents.

**New Metro Hospital**

Jacob was lying in bed asleep with Samantha sitting right by his side, holding his hand. Jacobs' parents had shown up after Cerica called them and they were talking to the doctor about their son's current condition. The doctor informed them that he'd need to stay overnight but that he'd be able to go home in the morning. He was lucky that his friends had got him to the hospital when they did. Cerica had called the police earlier and Drake had taken them to the location of the unconscious jocks and then to the location where the jock leader was lying unconscious. The six of them were arrested and charged with assault. Cerica was looking out the window the whole time while Drake and Lilith talked with Samantha. Something in the back of her head was telling her to go and find her mother. That was when a few members of the Divine Orders' special elite unit arrived in the room. Cerica turned around and greeted them and then began her questions.

"What's wrong? Why are you guys here?"

"There's a strong demonic presence coming from the area shopping are of the new outlet mall. Two of them have S Class power ratings but there's a third signature that is giving off an SS Class power rating." One of the four elite warriors told her.

"What?! Are you serious?" she asked in shock.

"Yes ma'am. We were also able to confirm the presence of your mother and sister in the same location." another one of the elite warriors told her.

"Is there anything else?" she asked worriedly.

"Just one more thing. The demonic power with the A Class rating. It seems to have generated a presence of an arms partner."

Cerica's eyes widened with this last bit of information. She couldn't believe it. '_I don't believe it. It must be him. It has to be that new Rider…..Yami_!' she thought to herself. She then turned her head to Drake and Lilith and looked at them. They nodded, understanding that she wanted them to stay at the hospital and look after things here. She then turned back to the four elite warriors and glared.

"Move out!"

Cerica and the four elite warriors made their way to the battle where Kamen Rider Shadow was fighting. They would soon arrive and kill the demons. She just hoped that her mother and sister were alright.

**Alleyway: Yami VS. Yamato & Fredrick**

The fight had been going on for about five minutes now and it seemed that the two demons were having trouble trying to keep up with Yami's attacks. He was keeping Fredrick at bay with his blood whip while parrying Yamato's claws with his dragon sword. The two demons were starting to annoy him and he knew that if this fight lasted any longer that either innocent people would get hurt or Carol and Emily may be used as shields. Yami decided that enough was enough and then focused his dark demonic power into his blade to power up one of his sure-kill techniques. Yami sent out a burst of demonic pressure at the two S Class demons which were knocked back from the blast.

Yami gripped his sword in his right hand and placed the tip of the blade on the ground. He then swung the blade in an upwards diagonal slash, straight towards his opponents while shouting out, "Shadow Slash!"

Yamato and Fredrick saw the attack coming and jumped up into the air to dodge the attack. The attack went past them and slammed into a dumpster, obliterating it on impact. Yamato and Fredrick were still in the air and were planning their next attack on their target. It was too bad that they'd never get the chance. '_Those idiots. They thought that just because my aura makes it seem like I'm an A Class demon that they could beat me. Heh, they haven't realized that my power is even greater than that_.' Yami thought to himself as he let loose two blood whips which wrapped around the two demons and brought them together…in a straight line.

"Time to say goodbye. Ready Draconis?" Yami asked his partner.

"You bet." He replied.

Yami grabbed his dragon buckle and turned counter clockwise one time so that Draconis' snout was facing Yami's left arm while the top of his head was facing his right. Black and purple electricity surged around the demonic Rider as the black markings on his right side began to glow. Yami ran and then jumped up straight into the air. Cerica and the four elite warriors landed right on the roof next to the battle field and they soon spotted Carol and Emily. They also noticed the two demons in the air thought they appeared to be bound together and stuck there. That was when Kamen Rider Shadow blasted right passed them and continued to go straight up. He rocketed past the demons until he was a half a mile high in the sky. "Amazing!" Cerica and the four elite warriors said in unison at the force of power that Yami was putting off.

After reaching his desired distance in the sky, Yami extended his right leg out as the dark and purple energy expanded outwards and formed a big glowing demonic looking glowing skull. Yami rocketed down towards the two demons with sound breaking speeds. The members of the Divine Order looked on in awe as the force heading towards the demons which would end their destructive existence permanently. The two demons looked up just in time to see their deaths at hand.

"**DEMON CRUSHER**!"

Yami slammed right into and through the two demons and hit the ground with such force that a 10 foot deep and 20 foot wide crater appeared below him. Yamato and Fredrick were covered in black flames and so was the crater. A moment later, Yami emerged from the crater unharmed and strolled over to Carol and Emily. The two of them stood up and ran towards him. They stopped in front of each other as Ceria and the four elite warriors also appeared before them.

"Big sister!" Emily cried out as she ran and glomped Cerica.

"Emily. I'm so glad you're safe." she said with a tear in her eye.

Cerica and the four elite warriors then turned their attention on Yami. Cerica finally accepted the truth. This new Rider was part demon, which meant that he would have to be eliminated sooner or later. Though it sort of felt wrong to her. He may be a demonic half-breed but he was helping people, not killing them. Something deep down inside her was telling her to trust him be she didn't know if she could. Yami then raised his right hand and his two rosaries dangled next to his armored arm. Then he snapped his armored fingers and the two demons in the sky exploded, body and soul in all. Yami then turned around and walked away, but not before waving a slight goodbye to Emily which she returned with a big smile and a blush. Yami walked right into a shadow that was casted on a wall and disappeared.

Cerica was about to give chase when they heard a moaning sound coming from behind a dumpster. Cerica went over to check it out and found Lucas laying there unconscious. She sat him up and cradled him in her arms. She placed her hand gently on his face and his eyes opened up slowly. The first thing he saw was her beautiful face. The four elite warriors rushed over to lend their assistance while Carol and Emily let out a small chuckle. No one but the two of knew that he was really Kamen Rider Shadow. Of course, they'd have to lie to protect his identity. But he was worth it in their eyes. Two of the elite warriors held Lucas up and guided him out of the alley with the others in tow. Today had been an interesting day.

**Friday Afternoon**

**Lucas' Apartment**

Jacob had been released from the hospital the day before and now he and Samantha were hanging out with Lucas at his apartment. Lucas told Jacob what he and Samantha had talked about the other day and then Lucas found out that Samantha had confessed her feeling to Jacob after he woke up. Needless to say, the two of them were dating now. Of course, Lucas also talked to Jacob about Samantha's half-breed blood which meant she would probably have more sexual urges that would need to be satisfied than the normal human girl. Jacob told him he was ready, willing, and able to help her. That was when Samantha let it slip that Lucas was also a half-demon. Lucas was going to torture her for that but Jacob told him that he already knew.

"How'd you know that I was a half-demon?"

"Well, that sealing rosary is a dead give away. You see, when I became really good friends with Sammy, I asked her about the charm she wears. She told me it was a gift from her mother and that it had been blessed by a Buddhist monk." Jacob explained.

"I see, so how does this explain that thing with my rosary?"

"Well, after finding out about the charm, I did some research on it and on some other sealing items that demons and half-demons wear to help either conceal their demonic aura or t surpress their demonic power. That's how I knew because the rosary you wear is one of them."

"Oh, I see."

That was when all hell broke loose. Draconis emerged from the shadow zone and both Jacob and Samantha had spotted him. They had heard about him from Cerica and remembered the detailed description she had given about the dragon. Needless to say, it took Lucas about 3 hours to calm them down and explain Draconis to them. This also meant that he now had to tell two more people that he was a Rider. Samantha thought that Draconis was kind of cute while Jacob wanted to take him apart and see what made him tick. Lucas just sighed as Samantha had to restrain Jacob from chasing Draconis all around the apartment. His life was getting more interesting but it was going to get worse before it got better.

Toku Warrior: Wow, this chapter was twice as long as the last one. Don't worry, I had originally planned for Lucas' identity as the new Rider to be revealed to a few people. I wanted to get most of the fluff and stuff done in the first half so as to help build up the action and drama in the second half. So, what did everyone think about it? Like it, hate it. Have some ideas and/or opinions you think may be of help to the story. Drop me a line via PM, e-mail, or through a review.

I hope you all liked this chapter and hopefully you'll like the next one. Remember Rachel, the little girl from chapter one. She makes a return appearance along with the introduction of Father Roland. In Chapter 3, Kamen Rider Shadow will face one of greatest adversaries, the whole Divine Order (minus Cerica, Emily, and Carol as they'll be somewhere else when the battle takes place).


	3. Rise of the AKushi!

_I do not own the Kamen Rider franchise. I do own this series as it is one that I created. Any characters that I use that do not belong to me will be credited to their original owners and creators at the end of each chapter. Please R & R._

**Chapter 3**

**Rise of the Akushi! Shadow & the Divine Order: Imminent Battle!**

Author: Toku Warrior

Rated T+: for Strong language, violence and suggestive dialog

'SLASH!'

'CLANG!'

It was the usual sounds of battle for the Divine Order. Today was no different from any other. Though things could be said a bit differently now. There were usually more demons and monsters to fight but in the past couple of months their numbers dwindled due to the appearance of a certain demonic Rider. Of course, there were still plenty of them roaming around. Currently, Cerica and a few other Divine Order members were taking care of a group of demons that had ransacked a local night club.

The demons that they were currently fighting were nothing more than Valanx demons. The Valanx are a group of demons that look like smaller yet sleeker version of the Violator demon of hell and with an appetite for blood to match. There were currently six of them but they were outnumbered due to the sheer numbers of the demon hunters flanking them. One of the Valanx's struck out at female hunter who quickly ducked under the swiping claw and then drover her golden lance that she was wielding straight through its head, from the soft part of its jaw and out through the top of its spiked skull. The demon fell over dead as a door nail only for two more to takes its place.

They both let loose at the woman with their own claws but soon found themselves ensnared by a few pairs of glowing red lassos that had been wrapped around their arms, stopping their attacks. The demons looked back only to see a big black spinning dagger disc fly right at them, decapitating them on the spot. The weapon lodged itself in a rock on the ground, making a crater on impact. The other three remaining demons saw this and knew that it was time to run. They turned to flee only to see the white armored form of Exis standing in their way.

"Tsk, tsk," she said while shaking her finger at them as if they had done something wrong. "Now where do you filthy demons think you're going?" The Valanx demons glared at her angrily as they looked around for another escape route. "Sorry, but your reign of terror ends here. Eris, now!" With the shouted command, she then lowers her rapier down to where the hand guard faces her buckle. The gem on the guard begins to glow as Eris let's out a small howl.

"_**Angelic Charge**_!" Eris shouted out as she mixed her energy with Cerica's, adding power to the weapon.

After a quick moment to allow the weapon to charge, Exis began to swing her weapon around in front of her, making glowing golden symbols in the air in front of her. The Valanx looked on in fear and quickly made a break for it. Too little too late on their part though as Exis then slashed the three glowing symbols at them.

"I don't think so! Heaven's Gate!" she shouted out as the glowing symbols flew at the demons, striking them. Upon contact the demons froze in their tracks, the symbols glowing a bright white color as the sounds of trumpets could be heard emanating from the symbols. It was as if the pearly white gates of heaven were opening, raining down pure holy energy into the souls of the demons. Screeching in pain, the demons quickly blew up in a ball of glowing fire as their bodies were torn asunder from the angelic power. After it was over both Exis and her team mates looked at the spot where the demons had stood.

"It seems we are victorious my lady." one of the hunters said to Exis as she deactivated her armor, allowing her rapier to reattach itself to Eris's head and become her gas cloud body once more.

"Maybe…but I think that was a bit too easy of you ask me." another hunter spoke up. Cerica agreed with his statement. That had been too easy. Or maybe they could have gotten stronger. She would have to check with the council to make sure. As she turned around to lead the others back to the temple her cellphone began to ring. Taking it out, she flipped her silver phone open and placed it to her ear.

"Hello? Yes…yes…Of course. We'll be right there." She quickly hung up her phone and returned it back to her pocket before looking back at her comrades. It seems the council wishes to have an emergency meeting as soon as we get back." The others looked at her and nodded. Within the blink of an eye, they quickly disappeared in a flash of light, heading back to the temple of the Divine Order.

—

**Opening Theme – "What I've Done" (artist: Linkin Park)**

—

The sky was clear without a cloud in the sky as Lucas sat in the lotus position on top of the roof of his apartment complex. He liked to use the early morning hours during sunrise to meditate and clear his mind. Mostly just used for helping in keeping his demonic power flux under control, mediation was also a way for him to let his mind wander around the area around him, giving him the ability to survey his surroundings. As he continued his mediation, Draconis floated next to him, performing his own style of mediation. Mediation was also a good way of improving the synchronicity between the two of them.

As they meditated, they didn't hear the door that led to the roof top open up to allow a person onto the roof. Walking up to and stopping behind the two meditating partners, the person waited for them to return to reality. The wind began to pick up some, sending the alluring smell of perfume that had suddenly come onto the scene to go past both Lucas's and Draconis's noses. The two friends turned around to see the beautiful image of Carol standing behind them in her full angelic glory. Unlike her human guise, her true form had flowing blonde hair and bright white wings. She wore a white tunic and some light angelic armor around her torso, gold gauntlets and arm bands, leg guards and a sword sheathed into a gold scabbard that was strapped to her hip. Lucas looked into her soft, gentle and warm silver eyes and smiled at the sensation of warmth that her presence had.

"Good morning Lucas." Carol said with a tender smile. He smiled back as he got up, followed by Draconis.

"Good morning to you too, Lady Carol." Lucas bowed politely which caused the angel to blush slightly. "So, what brings you here so early on this beautiful morning?" It was at this that her bright smile turned into a small frown. Lucas noticed this and grew concerned. "What? What happened?"

"Lucas, you should know that a majority vote has been passed about Shadow." She looked him in the eyes and frowned even more. She had come to tell him the news of the emergency meeting, feeling he had a right to know. "The council has decided that until they can personally talk with you that you will be considered an enemy threat. And as such you are to be brought in…by force if necessary."

"So, is that why you're here? Are you going to take me in for just being a half-demon?"

"No, I'm not. Emily and I both voted on your behalf, saying that you should be considered an ally to the Order. But many of them were against the notion because you're part demon."

"So I'm guessing they want my partner here to be brought in. To find out his true intentions for being here in the first place. I would be correct in assuming this, right milady?" Draconis asked kindly. He liked both Carol and Emily as they were nice to Lucas and hadn't revealed his secret to anyone so far. Carol just nodded in response to his answer. "I see." He turned his attention to Lucas, "Best be careful from here on out my friend."

"I guess you're right." Lucas said. He then turned back to Carol and smiled. "Thank you for letting me know ahead of time Lady Carol. And don't worry; I'll make sure to tread lightly."

"That's good. Well, I need to get going. I have to finish packing." This made Lucas quirk an eyebrow as he had heard nothing about Carol going anywhere from Cerica at school.

"Are you going somewhere?" Lucas asked out of curiosity.

"Oh, I'm taking both Cerica and Emily on a small family trip to the mountains where they have a local hot spring. The waters there are good for healing and replenishing holy energy. So we'll be out of town for the next few days. I'm counting on you to take care of any high level demons while also being wary of the council."

"You can count on me then. Go and relax and let me worry about things here." Carol nodded her head and flew off before vanishing in a glow of holy light. "I've got to learn how to do that." Lucas said to himself as he and Draconis headed to the door to go back downstairs and get freshened up.

—

Driving down the main street of the city, a black '94 Cadillac with a cross hood ornament made of pure silver was heading towards the mid-class apartment complexes. Inside the car were two people, an older gentleman dressed like a minister and a young girl. The young girl appeared to be only five years of age with chin length black hair and bright blue eyes. She wore a white t-shirt with a picture of Hello Kitty outlined in pink on the front, a red skirt, a pair of white socks and a pair of red sneakers. The older gentleman wore the symbolic black shirt, pants and white color band of a minister. He also wore a pair of black shoes and socks and a silver Rolex. He had a wooden cane sitting next to his car seat and also whore a black fedora and a black overcoat.

Coming to a stop at a red light, the minister looked at a set of directions leading to an address. He sighed and looked back at the young girl. He was taking her to see the young man that had brought her to him a couple of months before. He just smiled an old gentle smile when she looked up at him and smiled brightly.

"Father Roland, will I get to see Lucas once we arrive?" the young girl asked the minister.

"Of course you will. I doubt he'd turn you away." Father Roland replied. He looked back towards the road as the light turned green and sighed again. "That young man has a soft spot for those who no longer have loved ones to protect them. He sees himself in them and goes out of his way to make sure that they find a good home."

"So does that mean he'll help me find a new home too?"

"I believe so my dear. I truly do."

As they continued to drive down the road a dark being stayed hidden within the shadows of the buildings; watching the two of them as they mad their way to their destination. The two of them wouldn't suspect a thing. This creature had a target and what it wanted…was the little girl.

—

It was a bit brighter out now that it was a little after ten in the morning and Lucas was making his way towards the shopping plaza of the city. He had told Jacob and Sam that he'd meet them later on in the day and the two agreed. Lucas made his way wearing a black long sleeved over shirt that was unbuttoned, a white t-shirt, black pants and black shoes. His sacred rosary dangled from its usual spot from around his right wrist. Draconis kept himself hidden with Lucas's shadow so as not to draw attention.

As the two made their way they spotted the silver hair and familiar figure of Cerica walking out of a small convenience store with a couple of bags. Coming closer to the young woman, Lucas smiled as he called out to her.

"Hey Cerica, good morning." Cerica turned her head around and noticed the young red headed man walking up towards her. She smiled as she returned the greeting.

"Hey Lucas, strange seeing you out and about so early on a weekend morning. I thought you'd be the type to sleep in." Cerica stopped in front of her silver motorbike that was designed after a Honda VTR 1000 SP-1. It was silver in color and trimmed in gold with the symbol of angelic wings surrounded by a glowing halo on the sides of the gas tank. Lucas approached and starred in wonder at the lovely machine but also at its rider.

"So, what are you doing out so early in the morning?" Lucas asked, starring into Cerica's soft blue eyes. Cerica like the way he looked at her as he had calm looking eyes with a gentle aura to them. But that look also made her feel excited at the same time.

"Oh me, I'm just getting some last minute things for a small family trip with my mother and sister. We're going to the mountains for some spiritual cleansing so I'll be gone the whole weekend." Lucas just nodded as he opened up the back bag compartment on her bike for her, allowing her to put her bags inside. "Oh, well thank you.

"You're most welcome Cerica." Lucas, not wanting to hold her up any longer, decided to continue on his way towards one of the local cafés. "Well, I should be going. I don't want to hold you up from finishing getting ready." With that he waved and went on his way.

Cerica frowned a bit, seeming a little disappointed. She had wanted to take him along on the trip so that she could get to know him better but remembered being told it was for family only. She would take such family trips before and would also take Lilith, Drake or both with her as well. Over the past couple of months Cerica had begun to develop feelings for Lucas, feelings that she never experienced before in her entire life. She didn't fully understand those feelings but whenever they were alone she always felt like she had butterflies in her stomach. Then, realizing that she had wanted to ask him something, she reached out to stop him from leaving.

"Hey, Lucas, wait up for a sec." Cerica called out as she ran up to him. Lucas stopped and turned around, wondering what she wanted. "I wanted to ask you something real quick."

"Really? Well, what's up?" Cerica's cheeks began to blush slightly as she tried to form the question properly.

"W-well, you know about the fall dance that's a couple of weeks away, right?" Lucas nodded and Cerica could feel her heart pounding fast and hard in her chest. Just what were these feelings welling up inside of her? "W-w-well, ya see…I-I w-w-w-was wondering if y-you'd like…." She was starting to clam up more and her blush was becoming more maroon red. She was known as one of the school goddesses and was also considered a bit of a tomboy. She had plenty of guys always asking her out but this was the first time a guy had ever made her feel this way without even trying. Could she have fallen for him?

Lucas just smiled and placed his hand to her cheek. His rosary helped seal away a lot of his demonic power and also enabled it to where his youki couldn't be detected very easily. Cerica began to blush madly as Lucas used his finger, placing it under her chin and lifting her head slightly, creating eye contact. He could see how red her face had gotten and just smiled even more.

"Cerica…" Cerica quickly grew quiet as she paid attention to him. "Would you like to go to the fall dance with me?" Completely speechless, she could only nod as she went wide eyed and blushed a deep crimson. "Good. Then it's a date. I'll see you when you get back from your trip and then we can discuss what we'll wear and do during the dance in the next few weeks."

"O-o-o-okay." Cerica couldn't believe it. She had tried to ask him out but he asked her out instead though she figured it was because he could tell by the look on her face. Lucas then removed his hand from her chin and grabbed on of hers, lifting it up as he lowered his head down some and gently placed a kiss on her hand. Her blush deepened to the darkest shade of red as she held her breathe; her heart feeling like it had skipped a few beats.

He then let go of her hand and smiled before turning around and walked away. It took a few minutes for the new information to fully sink into her brain but when it finally did she began to smile brightly and started jumping up and down, hooting and hollering.

"Yes! Yes! I got a date! I actually got a date on my first try! Yes!" She then stopped as she noticed many of the people were looking at her strangely. She didn't really care though but then decided she wanted to enjoy the moment. She then headed back to her bike and strapped on her helmet before turning on the ignition and riding off back towards the temple. As she made her way home Lucas continued on his way towards the café until he sensed a presence he hadn't felt before. It was dark and demonic but it was unlike anything else he had ever encountered. And, it was very close.

—

As Father Roland and the young girl got closer to their destination they had come to another stop light. It had been about thirty minutes since they got within the mid-class apartment complex area and now it was nothing but twists and turns and stop lights. Waiting for the light to turn green they watched as many families went about their business. The young girl looked at all the kids and how happy they looked, being with their parents. Her face developed a saddened look to it as she lowered her head, remembering her father. She had never known her mother; the young girl having been told she gave her life to bring her into the world. Her daddy told her that mama was in heaven now as had become an angel. Father Roland looked down at the girl and noticed her face.

"My dear Rachel, what's wrong?" asked Father Roland as he placed his hand atop her head, ruffling her hair slightly. Rachel just looked at him and smiled.

"Nothing is wrong Father. I just…miss my papa."

Father Roland could understand how she felt. She wanted to see her family again. Unfortunately she was all alone in the world. She had no other living relatives so she had no where else to go. As the minister tried to cheer her up something else was about to take place.

—

The dark being that had been following the two within the black car looked at the young girl hungrily. Something about her aura really wet its appetite. It then looked around to see if it could spot the auras of any demon hunters and noticed a few close by. It could care less though as it knew that neither the Hunters Guild nor the Divine Order had anything that could stand up to the might of itself or the rest of its kind. Its hunger now getting the best of it, it took one last look around and then jumped into the air, coming down in front of the black Cadillac.

—

A few members of the Hunters Guild had gone on patrol with some members of the Divine Order. Both demon hunting organizations had agreed that Shadow had to be taken in for questioning since he was letting off youki. Having youki and possessing Rider powers was something that neither group liked very much. They believed that either only those chosen by heaven or people with just hearts could use such powers. Or to be more precise, only pure humans or angle/human hybrids.

As they continued to make their way around the city they soon heard a loud crashing noise followed by dozens of screams. Looking ahead of them they could see a small dust cloud. Letting their senses reach forth towards the screams they could sense a strong amount of youki coming from the location. They needed to move fast to stop whatever it was that was causing trouble.

—

Cerica, Emily and Carol were now on their way to the mountains to perform their spiritual cleansing. Cerica had gotten home just in time as Carol and Emily were ready to leave. Shoving the groceries into a cooler in the back she got into the front passenger seat and buckled up as her mom pressed down on the gas pedal. Emily and Carol quickly noticed upon Cerica's return home that she was extremely happy. She hadn't told them why she was happy yet though but she said she would fill them in later on during dinner. She just wanted to enjoy the blissful feeling she was in for just a bit longer.

—

Lucas was wondering what it was he was sensing when he heard a crashing noise followed by a loud boom and lots of screams coming up ahead of him. He had been following the dark presence for about half an hour until the large boom went off. Knowing something was wrong he quickly took to the alley ways, just in case he needed to transform.

—

Just as the light turned green, allowing Father Roland to continue his driving, he quickly came to an abrupt stop when a big black monster came crashing down in front of his car, causing it to tremble from the impact shockwave. After a few seconds he looked up and noticed a big pair of glowing red eyes looking at both him and Rachel. When Rachel saw those eyes she began to cower away, digging herself more into her seat.

Many other people started screaming at the site of the monster and ran for their lives, not wanting to die. It was then that Father Roland noticed several demon hunters coming on to the scene, their weapons drawn and preparing to strike.

—

The many demon hunters had their swords drawn and prepared to charge at the demon when it turned around and looked at them. Starring at them as they charged it, it just let out a dissatisfied snort as it brought up one of its clawed hands into the air and then swung it down in a downwards diagonal backhand swing, creating a force of pure energy and wind. The force and power of the swung arm rammed into the demon hunters and knocked them off their feet, sending them into a couple of cars behind them.

Lucas exited the alleyway as he saw dozens of people fleeing and screaming, doing what they could to get away from the area. He then looked over at the fallen demon hunters and then over to the car and starred in shock and awe at the demon before him. He had never seen such a demon before. It was big and muscular, standing a good six feet tall. It had a black colored body with a boney armor in the shape of ribs covering its body around its sides, outer arms and legs. Its hands and feet ended in sharp claws as it had a skull shaped face with glowing red eye and razor sharp teeth. (_Think of Skeletor from the He-Man movie for the face_). It held a big black battle staff in its left hand and wore a set of silver armor on its chest, shoulders, forearms, lower legs and a loin cloth.

"Just what is that thing?" Lucas asked aloud. Draconis rose out from his partner's shadow but stayed within the alleyway, keeping out of sight. He looked at the creature and recognized what it was. He had seen them once before, long ago from ancient times.

"It can't be." Draconis said as he starred at the demon. "They were supposed to have been destroyed. I guess we were wrong" Lucas looked behind him at hearing this. He knew his friend knew something.

"Draconis, you know what that thing is?" Draconis nodded his head but then both he and Lucas snapped their heads back at the demon upon hearing a set of screams. They saw the creature using the bladed end of its staff to slice off the top of the black car. Lucas peered into the car as he heard the scream of a little girl and went wide eyed when he saw them. "Oh no! Draconis," Lucas shouted as he looked back at his partner. "Both Rachel and Father Roland are in that car!"

Draconis looked on in shock as the monster grabbed Father Roland and threw him out of the car. Lucas was about to intervene when he noticed one of the still conscious demon hunters jump up and save the old man, catching him in mid air and gently bringing him down to the ground. Lucas then heard more of Rachel's screaming and noticed the monster grabbing her, hoisting her above its head as it growled happily, enjoying the fear it saw in her eyes as she began to cry. Draconis and Lucas couldn't take it anymore as they both backed deep into the alleyway.

"Draconis, what is that thing? Lucas asked as his familiar phased through the front of his body and exited from his back, the dragon familiar's gas cloud body now taking on its black blade shape, becoming the Shadow Sword.

"Yes, I do. It's called an Akushi. They were an ancient demon that feed upon flesh and take power from the souls that they devour. They were first spotted in Japan about two thousand years ago. The locals called them Akushi which means 'Death Devils'." Draconis said as he flew around Luca's left side, allowing the young Rider to grasp onto the hilt of the sword, blade facing outwards while the pommel faced inwards. "The last user of my powers, along with a few other warriors, had original destroyed all of them back then. But I guess a couple survived the battle and have since then slowly repopulated."

"Then I guess we'll just have to finish the job." Lucas popped off Draconis' head from the pommel of the sword. Upon doing that his waist was encircled by a black cloud that had begun to form around his body. After a moment the black cloud hardened and formed a black belt with gold trim. On the left side of the belt were to pouches which contained his two Soul Stones. As Lucas brought Draconis' head in front of his face, a flute could be heard playing eerie music in the background. Lucas then slipped the dragon head buckle into the slot on the center of the belt, activating the final part of the transformation. "Henshin!" Lucas shouted as he let the power flow through his body.

"Demon Burst!" Draconis shouted, signaling the power transfer. Black eerie clouds then formed over Lucas's body, hardening and then shattering away a moment later, leaving Kamen Rider Shadow in his place. "Let's go!"

"Hai!"

—

Deep within the temple of the Divine Order, both the Order and the Hunters Guild were having a meeting when their two mystics began to howl in pain from detecting the powerful youki that they were searching for. The most respected elder of the Council walked over, asking for a report.

"What is it? Has Shadow appeared?" the elder asked while everyone looked at the two mystics in silence.

"Yes, he has." said one mystic, a young woman.

"But so has something else. Something old, something very ancient and…very…dark." said the other mystic, a young male.

"Well, what is this other thing that you sense? And is it involved with Shadow?" Asked one of the three Generals of the Hunters Guild.

"It is not…" started the girl.

"…involved with the Rider. The Rider…" the boy added.

"…seems to be heading out to slay the creature. The creature…" the girl added on.

"…is attacking innocent lives. One of which seems familiar to the Rider. Another innocent is a minister. He seems knowing of the Rider…" the boy added on again.

"…and is not threatened" the girl added on as well, finishing the sentence.

The two organizations thought about this information for a moment. While Shadow had appeared so had a powerful demon. This would be a problem. For now, they knew what had to be done. The Council Elders and the Three Generals looked over to Drake and Lilith who had joined them for the meeting and gave them their orders.

"You two, take a group of thirty slayers with you. Assist the Rider in slaying the demon. Then, once the creature is slain, bring both its body and Shadow back here with you…by whatever means necessary."

"Sir, yes sir!" they shouted with a salute. Drake and Lilith then went to gather thirty volunteers for the mission and after a minute, quickly headed for the battlefield.

—

(_**Insert Song – Roots of the King: by Tetra-Fang**_)

Father Roland and the lone conscious demon hunter looked on at the Akushi as it dangled Rachel above its mouth, the kaijin opening its mouth wide so that it could devour its meal. Rachel kicked and screamed, not wanting to become a snack for the demon. She looked down at the gaping hole which was the demons' throat and her eyes went wide in fear. She didn't want to die and screamed again as she prayed to be saved.

Her prayers were answered by a familiar savior.

'BAM!'

The next thing anyone knew was the sight of the Akushi being sent flying through a store window as Rachel fell down to the ground. The young girl, after a few seconds, opened her eyes and noticed that she wasn't on the ground but was being held in the arms of her savior. She looked up at his head and noticed those big red menacing eye pieces that had scared her on her first encounter with him. She smiled with joy as did Father Roland. The demon hunter sat there with a dumbfounded look on his face as the Akushi slowly made its way out of the store window.

"Yami! You came! You came to rescue me!" Rachel squealed as she hugged the demonic Rider, not wanting to let go. As the hunter helped Father Roland up both Drake, Lilith and the thirty volunteers arrived at the scene. Seeing the sight of Shadow holding onto and protecting the little girl was something they didn't think a demon would do. They then looked over to the window as they heard a low growl and noticed the Akushi jump out of the window, sailing through the air and landing right in front of Shadow.

The Akushi looked at the Rider angrily as Shadow set Rachel down and motioned her towards Father Roland. He didn't want her anywhere near the fight. The Akushi was about to lash out at the girl when Shadow grabbed the demon by its wrist, holding it in place.

"_**You dare**_?" the creature growled in anger.

"Damn right I do." Shadow said in a monotone response. The Akushi then looked Shadow over and then went a little wide eyed as it freed itself from Shadow's grasp and stepped back a bit.

"_**You! You're the one that nearly killed my kind off two thousand years ago!**_" The Akushi raised its staff and swung it like a club, trying to decapitate the Rider in one swing. The bladed edge made contact and cleaved through Shadow's body. The Akushi smiled only for it to gawk as the Riders' body faded away in a puff of black smoke. It looked around for a moment until it was sent flying forward from a hit to its back and straight into Father Roland's Cadillac, causing the vehicle to explode on impact.

"Nice try. But it'll take more than that to defeat me." Shadow quipped as he brought down his left leg, apparently having used a forward thrust kick to send the monster flying. Drake and Lilith just looked on, waiting for their chance to strike.

"Just what is that creature?" Drake asked aloud to the hunter that had saved Father Roland.

"I don't know sir. But whatever it is…" he looked over at Shadow and smiled slightly. "…it's dangerous. But apparently, so is he." Lilith scanned Shadow's aura and found herself feeling somewhat nostalgic, as if she was experiencing déjà vu. It felt somewhat familiar to her. They all winced as the Akushi was sent flying into a street lamp from powerful right hook from Shadow.

The lamp bent over the demon's body upon the force of the impact and toppled over, sparks flying everywhere from the shattering of the glass and light bulb. Shadow then dashed at the monster and swung his sword down, striking at the monster. The Akushi then showed that it was not as slow as it appeared and, in a feet of strength, broke free of the bent street lamp to counter the Riders' sword strike with its staff, knocking Shadow's sword out of his hand.

Shadow shook his hand in pain as the Akushi got back up on its feet and lashed out at Shadow with its clawed right hand. The claws slashed over Shadow's chest plate, sending sparks flying and causing the Rider to scream in pain as he was flung across the battlefield and into a wall with a thud. Shadow let out a grunt from the impact and looked up quickly to see the Akushi already upon him. The demon grabbed the Rider by his neck and picked him up before slamming him into the wall repeatedly, the back of his head first.

Not liking where this was going, Shadow quickly dug his clawed armored finger tips into the demons arms before releasing some of his own demonic energy, ripping the Akushi's arm off.

"_**!**_" the Akushi screamed in agony. No one had ever hurt it like that before. Shadow then retaliated again by repeated punching the demon in its chest several times before slamming one of his elbows in its boney face, knocking it backwards. The Akushi dropped its staff as it held its face with its remaining hand while stumbling backwards. "_**Damn you, you bastard! I'll kill you for this!**_"

The Akushi then rushed at Shadow and lashed out with its left hand, trying to swipe at the Riders' head. Shadow reacted by ducking under the strike and used a backward kick to send the creature stumbling forward. The Akushi ended up running face first into the side of a bus. Some of the demon hunters snickered at this sight and this served to royally piss the ancient demon off. It got its bearing back and lunged at Shadow again. Shadow would have none of this though as the black demonic markings on the right side of his armor began to glow an eerie violet color as he took hold of the rosary latched around his right wrist.

Drake, Lilith and the hunters watched this carefully as Shadow held the top of the rosary like a sword hilt, the cross arms acting like a hand guard and the bottom leg acting like the blade. He then produced a red and violet colored energy blade form the rosary before using it to slash the Akushi across the chest, sending sparks and blood flying everywhere.

"Amazing!" one of the hunters said as Lilith slightly scrutinized the fact that a demonic being was using a holy item like a weapon. Drake noticed the look on her face and he too began to develop the same look. Shadow then let go of the rosary, allowing it to dangle from his wrist once more, while he brought his left index and middle fingers together, forming a red energy tip at their pointed ends.

The Akushi charged again as Shadow lashed out with the same blood whip he had used once before on the pack of werewolves two months prior on his first battle in New Metro city. This attack caught the demon by surprise as the force of the blood whip sent it flying back into the bus. Shadow lowered his arm and then lashed out the whip again, this time wrapping it around the blade of his fallen Shadow Sword, retrieving the weapon.

"Let's finish this aibou." Draconis said which Shadow nodded in agreement with. He took the blade into his right hand while using his left hand to grab onto Draconis' head, turning the head two times counter clock wise. This caused the dragon's snout to face upwards towards Shadow's head while the top of the dragons head faced the bottom of the ground. The demonic markings on the right side of his armor began to glow once more, but now in a pure black color. The energy flowed from his body and into his sword, the three red gems situated within the center of the blade glowing a bright crimson red. He held his sword close to his body.

The Akushi, being too proud to accept defeat, ran straight at Shadow, powering up a destructive ball of energy in its left hand. Shadow stood his ground for only a moment until the demon was close enough to strike. He then took one step forward with his right leg while bring his sword up above his head before swinging it down in a left downward diagonal slash, unleashing a powerful dark demonic energy slash.

"**Shadow Slash!**" Shadow shouted out as his dark sword cleaved right through the Akushi, splitting it down from its left shoulder down to its right hip. The monsters' body fell limp for a brief moments before its body split in two, causing it to explode in crimson red energy. Where its body once stood was now a pile of flames. The fire burned for a moment before dying out, leaving a small black gem in its place.

(_**End Song – Roots of the King**_)

"Aibou, quickly, absorb its power into my body by touching it with the tip of my blade!' Draconis quickly instructed Shadow which the Rider did. In an instant, the black gem melted and merged with the Shadow Sword, its power now becoming Shadows. Shadow felt the energy course through his body momentarily before it then settled down.

Shadow then felt something small and soft run up to him and glomp onto his left leg. He looked down and noticed Rachel quickly hugging him. He smiled underneath his helmet. He then looked up to see Father Roland come over next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder while smiling a gentle old smile.

"Well done my boy. Your grandfather would have been proud." Father Roland said.

As much as they three of them wanted to relax Shadow then began to tense up as he noticed the demon hunters coming closer before stopping a good ten six feet away from him. Wanting to make sure no innocent people got hurt, Shadow motioned for Rachel and Father Roland to get behind him. He the looked Drake and Lilith straight in the eyes, a stern look on his face which couldn't be seen due to his helmet. He knew of Drake and Lilith and thought of them as friends. It was only that they didn't know about him and his dual identities.

"What is it? What do you hunters want?" Shadow asked coldly. He wasn't a real nice fan of demon hunters. A lot of demons and half-demons had bad blood with demon hunters and it never ended pretty. After a few seconds Drake stepped forwards, closing a bit of the distance between them.

"Kamen Rider Shadow…" Drake started out with a firm tone. "…I, Drake Richards, am hereby placing you under arrest by order of both the hunters Guild and the Divine Order." Shadow just looked at him, not budging an inch while Rachel glared at the young teen.

"Really? On what charge?" Shadow asked in a monotone voice.

""For being a being that shouldn't exist. For being a demon." Lilith said, stepping up next to her boyfriend, giving him support. "You are hereby ordered to surrender immediately and return with us to the temple of the Divine Order so as to be questioned of your true motives for being here and to explain on your acquirement of your Rider powers."

"I don't think so." Shadow said as he took a defensive stance. He motioned for both Father Roland and Rachel to get back, not wanting them to get caught in the middle.

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice." Drake said as he got into a fighting stance alongside Lilith. The other hunters also drew their weapons, preparing to get ready to throw down with the demonic Rider. This could only end badly.

—

Driving through the town, a black limousine pulled up to the apartment complex in which Lucas resided in. After coming to a stop the driver got out and went around to the other side and down to the back, opening the door once he got there. At first a couple of body guards came out, two male and one female. They all wore black suits and ear pieces and a pair of pitch black sunglasses. They were then followed out by the three important occupants.

One was a young girl, no older than sixteen. She had long silver hair tied in a ponytail that reached the back of her knees. She wore a white silk shirt with a black silk over coat and a red ribbon around her collar. Eh also wore a black mid-thigh high skirt and black leggings that reach mid-thigh as well. She also wore black leather shoes. Her eyes glowed a red crimson color as she starred at the building.

Next to her was an older looking woman who seemed to look like she was in her late twenties but was probably older than that. She had short shoulder length brown hair and soft gentle blue eyes. She wore a solid black dress that attached itself around her neck, leaving her collar and shoulders bear. She wore long, fingerless black gloves that went up to her shoulders. The sides of her dress were split to reveal her luscious and shapely legs. On her feet were brightly polished black high heel shoes. She had her purse slung over her shoulder while a pearl necklace dangled around her neck.

And, finally, next to them was an young looking older man. He somewhat resembled an older looking Lucas. He had short spiky auburn brown hair and crimson colored eyes. He wore a three piece gray suit with black colored shoes and gold pocket watch set within his outer coat pocket on the left side. He also wore a pair of black sunglasses. He had an intimidating look to him and his eyes were stone and showed almost no emotion at all.

The man slowly took off his glasses as he looked at the building and sighed. He couldn't believe the boy decided to live here among the public where he would possibly be considered a threat instead of returning to the safety of his family home where he could live a life of peace and luxury.

"So…this is where Lucas lives?" The man just let out another sigh as he pocketed his sunglasses. "Well, my son…it's time we had a…family reunion."

—

**Ending Theme – With You (by: AAA)**

—

_Toku Warrior_: Yeah, okay, don't even ask. This chapter took me well over two years to write. I've been having major writer's block with this series and with so many fan-fiction story ideas it's getting hard to keep my attention focused on one thing for too long. Sorry for the EXTREMELY long wait for this but I hope everyone who is still reading this story likes it. We finally get to see the main kaijin enemy of the series appear, the Akushi. We also get to see the beginning of the upcoming battle between Shadow, the Divine Order and the hunters Guild. I did day I was going to have them fight this chapter but I decided to introduce the kaijin for this series first instead. Also, who could those people in the end be? I'll let you think on that. Until then, R&R and take care my friends.


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